Heart Device Studies Show More Misuse, American Heart Association Suggests
More researchers are finding evidence of misused heart therapies that may be costing thousands of lives each year, making the case that both underuse and overuse of implanted cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapies are a problem in the health care industry. Earlier this year researchers found that more than one in five patients implanted with ICDs may not have needed the device. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., kicked up a firestorm of attention and skepticism.