Wear a device to correct arrhythmia? It might make you prone to road accidents

Wear a device to correct arrhythmia?

Implanting a device commonly used to help treat irregular heartbeats -- called arrhythmias -- may increase the risk of motor vehicle accidents, suggests new research.

Using nationwide registers, the researchers identified all Danish residents who received a first ICD for primary or secondary prevention between 2008 and mid-2012. Motor vehicle accidents were recorded from nationwide registers on accidents and deaths. The study included 4,874 ICD patients and a control group of 9,748 participants matched by age and gender. Participants were 63 years old on average. During an average follow-up period of 2.5 years, 2.3 per cent of ICD patients were in contact with a hospital following a motor vehicle accident, compared to only 1.7 per cent of the control population. Over time, this translated into a 51 per cent increased risk of motor vehicle accidents in ICD patients compared to controls, the researchers said. The findings were presented at the ESC (European Society of Cardiology) Congress 2016 in Rome, Italy. (Read: Discovered — genes causing abnormal heart beat)

Source: IANS

Photo source: Shutterstock (Image for representational purpose only)

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