Americans’ heart devices reused safely in India

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – U.S. patients’ used heart devices can be safely implanted in seriously ill heart disease patients in the developing world, a study out Monday suggests. “These devices did work well. They delivered appropriate shocks and saved lives,” said lead researcher Dr. Behzad B. Pavri, of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. The devices, known as implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), automatically deliver potentially life-saving electrical shocks to the heart in people at high risk of cardiac arrest. …