St. John Hospital & Medical Center: Detroit
Cardiac Care
Thursday, September 24, 2009

Media Contact: Brian Taylor, (586) 753-0726

St. John Hospital heart care specialists, led by electrophysiologist, Luis Pires, M.D., have treated the first patient in the country as part of a worldwide study aimed at determining a better way to program implantable heart defibrillators to reduce the number of unnecessary shocks. 

The study involves patients who have been found to potentially be at risk for sudden cardiac death even though they have not experienced symptoms. Currently patients are offered devices programmed for those who receive the device because they have had a cardiac arrest. There are differences between their medical condition and those patients.

Approximately 20 percent of the shocks given for fast heart rates in the range of 170 to 199 beats per minute are unnecessary for those with defibrillators but who’ve not had symptoms. This is called “inappropriate therapy” and can be associated with considerable discomfort.

The overall goal of this trial is to determine if safe and effective device therapy can be provided while at the same time reducing unnecessary shocks.

St. John Hospital and Medical Center is a member of St. John Health and the St. John Health Heart Care Network, the leading provider of heart care in Michigan. SJH&MC is a nationally recognized leader in cardiovascular care.

Back