European Heart Journal Advance Access originally published online on August 3, 2006
European Heart Journal 2007 28(4):392-397; doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehl166
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The cost of implantable defibrillators: perceptions and reality
1 St George's University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK
2 Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
3 Guidant Europe, 1831 Diegem (Brussels), Belgium
Received 28 April 2006; accepted 6 July 2006; online publish-ahead-of-print 3 August 2006.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +44 0 20 8725 3414; fax: +44 0 20 8767 7141. E-mail address: jcamm{at}sgul.ac.uk
See page 386 for the editorial comment on this article (doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehl518)
Aims Recent guidelines have recommended more wide-ranging indications for the use of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy, yet even more restrained previous guidelines have not been implemented for a variety of reasons.
Methods and results This brief review critically examines the reasons most frequently put forward to explain this failure. Contrary to the frequently repeated speculation that the risk stratification for sudden death and hence prophylactic placement of ICDs is reasonably accurate, there is little cost difference between pharmacotherapy and ICD treatment over the long term. ICD therapy does not utilize an undue proportion of the healthcare budget, and the healthcare systems in Europe can afford this therapy.
Conclusion Financial reasons are neither accurate nor adequate explanations for the failure of the European medical community to implement European guidelines for the implantation of ICDs for primary and secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death.
Key Words: ICD • Sudden death • Health economics • Cost-efficacy
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- The cost of implantable defibrillators: how the perception of reality depends on perspective
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