Headlines: ICD Benefits and Risks Studied by HHS, Cardiologists
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A $3.5 million research project will study the long-term benefits and risks of implantable cardioverter defibrillators, or ICDs, in patients at risk of death from ventricular fibrillation. The study will be done by the Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the two groups said in a press release. The project is being conducted in cooperation with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of HHS’ National Institutes of Health.
Ventricular fibrillation is a type of abnormal heart rhythm that causes cardiac muscles in the ventricles in the heart to tremble rather than contract properly. The condition requires prompt attention; if the abnormal rhythm continues for more than a few seconds, blood circulation will cease, and sudden cardiac death may occur in minutes.
Other Health Safety and Recall News headlines:
- Roosevelt, N.Y.-based Parabit Systems Inc. installed three of its Secure Cares Infant Protection Systems in hospitals on Long Island, including Good Samaritan Hospital. Parabit makes security installations that prohibit infant abduction and patient wandering.
- The American Board of Family Medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics, the nation’s three largest physician certifying boards, jointly announced that Mayo Clinic has been approved as a Portfolio Sponsor of Maintenance of Certification activities. MOC activities involve the design and execution of a large number of quality improvement goals that are managed centrally through an established infrastructure and overseen by a formal governance body.
- Starbucks is recalling glass water bottles sold at Starbucks locations in Safeway and Target stores nationwide this month. The $9 glass water bottle and/or its stopper can shatter when the consumer is removing or inserting the stopper, posing a laceration hazard. The firm has 10 reports of either glass stoppers or water bottles shattering, including eight reports of hand lacerations. The recall involves clear glass water bottles with SKU number 11003503. The 20-ounce water bottles have the words “Glass Water Bottle” printed on a blue label affixed to the bottle.
