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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JDN who wrote (156640)	6/30/2001 10:48:38 AM
From: gao seng	Respond to of 769667

I think he should stay on, but not do interviews. Friday, 29 June 2001 18:09 (ET) Cheney treated to prevent 'sudden death' By ED SUSMAN, United Press International The "pacemaker plus" that could be implanted into the chest of Vice President Richard Cheney Saturday is designed to automatically send an electric shock to his heart to correct occurrences of abnormal heart rhythm that, left untreated, could cause death in a matter of minutes. Cheney said Friday he would undergo tests Saturday to determine if it were necessary to surgically implant a beeper-sized electronic device under his skin. The device, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, monitors the rhythm of a patient's heart and if it detects deadly ventricular defibrillation, will automatically fire. "Often the patient will feel the shock," said Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, immediate past president of the American Heart Association, and professor of medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn. "These patients say the shock is uncomfortable." "The ICD detects the abnormal heartbeat," explained Dr. Robert Myerburg, professor of medicine at the University of Miami in Florida, and a consultant to the vice president's medical team. "In about 7 to 15 seconds, the device will charge itself and fire, correcting the rhythm disturbance," Myerburg told United Press International. "Most of the time the device works so quickly that patients do not lose consciousness. They certainly will feel the shock of the ICD. We ask people who have a shock to see their doctors as soon as possible after the event." Robertson said the devices record information about the incident and can be "interrogated" by doctors electronically to provide information that can be useful in treating patients. An ICD itself costs about $25,000 she said, but "once you add the costs of medical treatment, hospital stay, doctors' fees, etc., the entire cost of implanting an ICD can run about $55,000.". Myerburg said that Cheney fits into the condition of people who are candidates for suffering ventricular fibrillation, a rapid, incoherent beating of the heart. If a person suffers ventricular fibrillation they will rapidly lose consciousness and can be dead within minutes -- a condition defined in cardiology as 'sudden death.' "There are two classes of people who are candidates for ICDs," Myerburg said. "First are patients who have had episodes of 'sudden death' and have been revived; the others are patients who are considered to be at high risk for ventricular fibrillation due to heart disease and abnormal heart beats. Mr. Cheney may fit into that second category." Myerburg said that in studies of this population of patients, the two-year mortality -- without implanting the device -- is about 32 percent. "By implanting the device we reduce the risk of mortality by 25 percent to 50 percent or more. In one study, the risk was reduced to 13 percent over two years." These statistics reflect the overall risk of the patient dying, not just the risk of 'sudden death' -- which is virtually eliminated by the ICD. "Once the ICD is implanted, Myerburg said "the risk of 'sudden death' is taken care of." "But," Myerburg added, "the risk is very much related to the individual. If this risk is identified and the ICD is implanted, then the prognosis for the patient really is driven by other factors such as how rapidly the person's underlying coronary artery disease is driven." He said that because the abnormal heartbeat condition has been identified and if the ICD is warranted, "then I would have far less concern about this aspect of his condition. These devices are very good. They are pretty effective therapy." Robertson told UPI that the tests Cheney will undergo at George Washington University Hospital will attempt to induce sustained abnormal heart rhythms. If the doctors are able to cause those rhythms, Cheney will be a candidate for the ICD. In addition to the ICD's use to prevent episodes of ventricular fibrillation, Robertson said it can also prevent other problems such as fainting, also due to heart rhythm problems. The ICD also has pacemaker properties that can detect and correct abnormally slow heartbeats as well as rapid ones. "The ICD uses the same technology that makes it possible for external defibrillators to be used to save the lives of people who suffer 'sudden death' in public places such as airports," Robertson said. When external defibrillators are used quickly to revive patients as many as 60 percent of them survive, Robertson said. She noted, however, that nationally fewer than 5 percent are treated rapidly enough to save their lives.