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CORRECTED: Heart devices may help women less than men: study

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 March 2006, 16:13 CST

Corrects headline to read "Heart devices may help women less than men.".. instead of "Heart devices may help less women than men."

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Implanted devices designed to shock the heart into a normal rhythm may not be as effective in women as they are in men, researchers said on Monday.

Researchers at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and the University of Connecticut evaluated five previous trials of Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and found that ICDs cut the risk of death by 24 percent in men compared with 12 percent in women. ICDs are stopwatch-sized devices placed in the chest to regulate a dangerously fast heart beat with a jolt of electricity.

Nickole Henyan, lead author of the study and a pharmacist at Hartford Hospital, said the researchers could not explain why men experience more benefits from ICDs than women.

Henyan said the findings, presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology, needed to be confirmed by future research. It is possible that other studies that included more women might give different results, she said.

The majority of clinical trials of ICDs have involved male patients.

Source: REUTERS

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