By Nathan Sager
Published on May 3, 2022 at 6:11 p.m.
People living with abnormal heart rhythms may soon benefit from the work of Hamilton researchers, who have found that a newer type of heart defibrillator reduces the complications of patients with factor 10.
An implanted heart defibrillator detects an abnormal heartbeat and sends an electric shock to return the heart to normal. But the newer device, known as a subcutaneous defibrillator, is implanted under the skin just below the patient’s armpit with a wire that runs under the skin along with the sternum. According to a 2019 video from Boston Scientific Cardiology, the implant is placed behind the broad back muscle.
The risks of blood clotting, heart damage and lung damage are reduced because the device is not implanted in a vein like the more traditional defibrillator.
The study was conducted by the Institute for Population Health Research (PHRI), a joint facility of Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and McMaster University. They followed 544 patients across Canada, ranging in age from 18 to 60. Half received a subcutaneous defibrillator, and the other half served as a comparison group that received an older model that included a vein implant. Patients were examined for an average of 2 years, and those with a subcutaneous device had more than 90 percent fewer complications.
“The subcutaneous defibrillator significantly reduces complications without significantly compromising performance,” said study leader Dr. Jeff Healy, an electrophysiologist at HHS, a professor of cardiology at McMaster and a senior scientist at PHRI. “This makes it an attractive alternative to traditional defibrillators, especially in patients at increased risk of complications.”
Patients in both groups had genetic heart disease or were at high risk of complications.
Dr Healy recently presented the findings to the research team at a conference and hopes that this will lead to a change in generally accepted medical practices, according to a HHS press release.
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