By WKRG Staff
Published: Mon, April 30, 2007 - 6:04 am
The devices have allowed thousands of people with heart problems to live longer. Problem is, after years of use, some defibrillators are breaking down.
The tiny battery pack is implanted in the chest.... powering two electrical leads in the heart. When the heart beats abnormally the leads sense it and shock the heart back to a normal rhythm.
Now a new study from the American Heart Association is delivering a different kind of shock.
Researchers found those leads that fire lifesaving electricity can breakdown over time. It seems the older the leads, the more likely a malfunction. When researchers looked at patients with ten year old leads.... they found one out of five had become defective. The good news.. a simple diagnostic test like this can detect a defect.
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