High-risk patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) appear to have a reduced chance of death with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), according to new research.
An ICD is a device designed to detect abnormal and potentially life-threatening heartbeats and then restore normal heart rhythm by delivering an electric shock to the cardiac muscle.
Of 506 patients with HCM studied between 1986 and 2003 by a team at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, 20 per cent experienced one or more appropriate ICD device intervention, figures published in the journal Jama suggest.
'The results of this international, multi-centre study show the effectiveness and reliability of the ICD in the prevention of sudden cardiac death in high-risk patients with HCM,' the authors write.
HCM is a mostly hereditary condition in which the heart muscle becomes thickened.
Its symptoms and severity vary from mild to severe and while some sufferers do not require any treatment, others need medication or surgery.
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