The recall
is for implanted Guidant
defibrillators (ICD) that treat congestive heart failure. An ICD, or
internal cardioverter defibrillator, is a device implanted into the
chest to monitor the heartbeat. When the ICD detects an arrhythmia,
it delivers pulses of electricity as needed to return the heart to
normal function.
Guidant announced Thursday, Sept. 22, that they issued a new advisory to
doctors indicating that about 170,000 of its pacemakers might
malfunction on rare occasions & that forty models of the Insignia and
Nexus families of pacemakers might lose their ability to properly pace
the heart.
