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Article: The beat goes on. (Neighborhood Heart Watch).(cardiac resynchronization therapy )(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Medical Update
- Article date:
- March 1, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Heart failure affects three to five million people in the United States, the vast majority over age 65. Up to 50 percent of individuals with advanced heart failure develop abnormalities of the heart's electrical impulses which control the heart's contractions, so cardiac function is severely compromised. When the heart fails and becomes weaker, it doesn't squeeze and pump blood normally. And the way the heart muscle squeezes down may become unsynchronized, which can worsen symptoms -- including shortness of breath, fatigue, and swelling of the feet and ankles.
Fortunately, an innovative new therapy employing advanced pacemaker technology, called cardiac ...