cardiac arrest tagged posts

A novel, water-resistant patch-wearable cardioverter-defibrillator (P-WCD) is safe and effective for patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest, according to a study published in the Aug. 6 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

John Hummel, M.D., from The Ohio State University in Columbus, and colleagues assessed the safety and clinical effectiveness of a novel P-WCD. The analysis included 290 patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest due to ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation who were not candidates for or refused an implantable defibrillator.

The researchers found that the clinically significant cutaneous adverse device effect rate was 2.30 percent, with no severe adverse effects...

This is an illustration depicting EKG readings before, during and after the use of light — optogenetic deffibtillation — to restore a normal heartbeat to an arrhythmic heart. Credit: Patrick M. Boyle/Johns Hopkins University

Using high-tech human heart models and mouse experiments, scientists at Johns Hopkins and Germany’s University of Bonn have shown that beams of light could replace electric shocks in patients reeling from a deadly heart rhythm disorder. The findings could pave the way for a new type of implantable defibrillators. Current devices deliver pulses of electricity that are extremely painful and can damage heart tissue. Light-based treatment should provide a safer and gentler remedy for patients at high risk of arrhythmia that can cause sudden cardiac death within minutes.

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