The use of life-saving implantable cardioverter defibrillators in Canada is rising, but it is still significantly less than that in the United States. Dr. David Birnie and colleagues from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute report that, between 1995 and 2003, the use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators in adults who survived a cardiac arrest increased from 5.4% to 26.7% in Canada; in the US, the rate went up from 9.7% to 42.0%.
