defibrillators news from FierceHealthcare

A group of cardiologists has called for closer monitoring of wire leads that connect to defibrillators and pacemakers in the heart in the wake of serious malfunctions and deaths that took place in... Read more...

A new study suggests that one of the key reasons few patients who need them get implantable defibrillators is that primary care doctors often don't know when to recommend them. Right now, between... Read more...

Should surgeons implant a defibrillator in a 99-year-old patient's heart? This question, which might have seemed academic years ago, is becoming increasingly relevant as patients live longer and ask... Read more...

The FDA has issued a warning that some critical electronic devices may malfunction when patients get CT scans. In fact, CT scans may actually cause some medical devices to shock patients using them,... Read more...

In the past, much of the discussion over implantable heart devices like pacemakers and defibrillators was over which patients were suitable candidates--and how to get health plans to pay for them.... Read more...

Too often, hospital patients with ventricular arrhythmias aren't treated with defibrillators soon enough, a problem that may have an impact on their survival, according to a new study published in... Read more...

Medical device maker Medtronic has been sued over alleged malfunctions in the leads for its defibrillators, which plaintiffs say gave them unnecessary shocks. Plaintiffs Leonard Stavish and Kelly... Read more...

> Heart implant manufacturer Medtronic has asked doctors to stop using a key component in its recent defibrillator models. Read more...

A University of Michigan Medical Center study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology finds that up to one third of people who receive defibrillators don't need them. The study suggests that patients who may receive defibrillators should first undergo a test that provides accurate information on how well the heart pumps blood. Instead of undergoing expensive defibrillator surgery, the patients who don't need it could benefit from less invasive procedures. …

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The FDA has announced plans to tighten up regulations governing several medical devices, including stents, pacemakers, implantable defibrillators and other medical devices it regulates. The move was prompted, in part, by concerns over last year's massive defibrillator recalls, which concerned more than 200,000 devices. Among other steps, the FDA would like to see devices marked with a unique …

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