Infections Follow Rise in Cardiac Implants

The number of implantable cardiac devices in use has doubled since 1993, and the number of infections associated with them has more than tripled, a new study has found.

Use of implanted defibrillators, which prevent irregular heartbeats, increased by more than 500% from 1993 to 2008, while the use of implant and pacemakers, which speed up a slowly beating heart, increased by 45%, the report said.

The study in the latest issue of The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, used a representative sample of hospital discharge records to estimate the number of infections caused by the devices. The incidence of infection in 2008 increased to 2.4% from less than 1.5% in 2004. Treating one infection costs, on average, $146,000 dollars.

The reason for the increase is not clear but the recipients’ age and poorer health may be factors. Defibrillators require frequent replacement which each procedure providing another opportunity for infection.