Refurbished heart pacemakers have the potential to help people overseas who can't afford one An international trial that compared refurbished devices to new ones showed encouraging results Such implants aren't legal in the United States, but the FDA allows refurbished devices to be sent overseas THURSDAY, Nov. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Don't let your surgeon toss your old heart out with the trash. Used pacemakers can be refurbished, researchers report, providing the potential for more people overseas to get the lifesaving devices.
"Unlike in the United States, pacemaker therapy is often not available or affordable for people in low- and middle-income countries," explained , a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Frankel Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. "Our program is determined to change that." At an American Heart Association meeting in Chicago earlier this month, his team presented the results of a trial that compared the function and safety of reconditioned pacemakers to new devices.
The international trial involved nearly 300 people in seven countries in Africa and the Americas. Participants were randomly chosen to receive a new pacemaker or a reconditioned device. Implanted under the skin, pacemakers provide electrical impulses to help regulate an irregular heartbeat.
Comparing the function and safety of reconditioned pacemakers to new devices, researchers found no significant differences in pacemaker function up to 90 days after their procedure. Three people .
