About the Risk of Heart Failure Study

Okay, did the research...

This study was conducted in 2005 (which is why it doesn;t show up in the March 2008 journal.

To me, an important element in this study is as follows:
(Direct from the published report)

"In reviewing the records, we observed a significant increase in heart failure related events, including hospitalization or death, as early as six months after pacemaker implantation,"said Dr. Freudenberger, who also is director of the heart transplant program at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
"Total mortality, however, was lower overall in the group with pacemakers, as was the occurrence of renal disease, cancer, neurological dysfunction and death from respiratory disease."

It's interesting when you take a good look at the last three lines!

Cheers,
D. Ward

3 Comments

Thanks

by boatman50 - 2008-04-01 09:04:18

That was just one more thing I did not want to point out toi my wife. She is worried enough about me. Those last 3 lines are a nice boost!

Ah well!

by Roly - 2008-04-02 02:04:55

Had my PM six weeks ago.I am already rated with mild to moderate heart failure following the original coronary back in Oct 2006.The idea is to deal with fainting episodes.Where was the study published?
Cheers ..Roly.

Connecting the dots

by ElectricFrank - 2008-04-02 12:04:45

The problem with these studies that simply relate the pacemaker with a condition like heart failure is that they don't take into account that a patient who is a candidate for a pacer is someone who already has heart problems. They say they control for this, but the statistical methods are shaky.
Since modern computers have made statistical calculations so easy and fast, all sorts of relationships have appeared. I saw one recently where they showed a significant correlation between having a flight delayed and having eaten cuccumbers in the last 12 hours.

frank

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