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White Men Most Likely To Get Lifesaving Heart Device

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 3, 2007

Elderly male heart patients are two to three times more likely than female patients to receive implanted devices that shock a malfunctioning heart back into normal rhythms, and white men are about a third more likely than black men to receive them, researchers reported today.
Previous research has shown a disparity between use of the devices in men and women, but had suggested the gap was closing. Today's study, however, indicates it is getting wider. Overall, only about a third of patients who are eligible for the potentially lifesaving implanted cardioverter-defibrillators are getting them, according to two studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Nation/World, Page 5

•As many as 450,000 Americans die each year when the electrical signals that initiate heartbeats become erratic, interfering with the organ's ability to pump blood through the body.

•Clinical trials have shown that the devices, which are about the size of a cigarette pack and cost $30,000 to $40,000 to implant, can prolong life in 31 percent to 50 percent of patients.

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