Defective Defibrillators and Pacemakers

Cardiac defibrillators are small devices implanted into the body used for regulating the heartbeats of those with heart problems. A small computer is used to detect an irregular heartbeat and shock the heart into the proper rhythm. Boston Scientific/Guidant is one of the nations largest manufacturers of defibrillators and pacemakers.

Just recently, Boston Scientific/Guidant and the FDA recalled a subset of devices within the CONTAK RENEWAL 3 & 4, VITALITY and VITALITY 2 families. This new recall includes about 73,000 implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators and cardiac defibrillators due to faulty capacitors. While this recall is similar to the recall of 2006, this time the failure modes and patient outcomes differ. The capacitors have been causing accelerated battery depletion and reducing the time between the elective replacement indicators and end of life to less than three months.

The original recall from Guidant came in June of 2005 when defibrillators implanted in over 50,000 patients worldwide started malfunctioning. In the US alone, there were 38,000 defibrillators implanted during that time and at least 45 of them had failed, resulting in at least 2 deaths. The defibrillator models recalled in 2005 were

Prizm 2 DR
Contak Renewal and Contak Renewal 2
Ventak Prizm AVT
Vitality AVT
Renewal 3 AVT and Renewal 4 AVT ICDs

In addition to the defibrillators, Guidant admitted that up to 18,000 pacemakers had a potential defective moisture seal that lead to dysfunction. These pacemakers were next on the recall list. The pacemaker models include

Pulsar Max
Pulsar
Discovery II
Discovery
Meridian
Virtus Plus II
Intelis II
Contak TR
Pulsar Max II

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective pacemaker or defibrillator you need to seek legal help immediately. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your suffering.

To learn more about the Guidant recall or how to hire a defibrillator lawyer, please visit our website at http://www.resource4guidantrecall.com This article may be freely reprinted as long as this resource box is included and all links stay intact as hyperlinks.

Refibrillation and Automated External Defibrillators
Concerning refibrillation, Stults and Brown carried out a research and 271 cases in ventricular fibrillation were studied. These 271 patients were assisted by EMT-Ds without being supported by paramedics. The EMTs succeeded to render the heart rhythm to normal for 111 patients. 19 (17%) of the 271 patients refibrillated before the arrival at the ho...

Defibrillator - Heart Savior or Life Killer?
Defibrillator heart savior or life killer? The typical thought is that a defibrillator is used to save lives, but how can it kill too?A defibrillator is a medical device used in the defibrillation of the heart. Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT), the two most comm...

How Normal Naline Flush Syringes Work and the Possible Side Effects
Normal Saline Flush Syringes are manufactured for the purpose of providing its users with the ability to clean out and purify the interior of other syringes that people use for a variety of reasons, including IV lines and other injections that people tend to manage at home. The intended usefulness of this product is to provide consumers with the o...

What Is Sudden Cardiac Death?
If you can still remember, three young high profile professional athletes: Reggie Lewis (basketball player), Darryl Kile (baseball pitcher), and Marc Vivien Foe (football player) all died of sudden cardiac death or sudden death due to a fatal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation.Sudden cardiac death is sudden and unexpected with death occur...

Defibrillators- Will You Be the Next One Saved by an AED?
AED stands for Automated External Defibrillator. An AED, or Automated External Defibrillator is a lightweight, portable Defibrillator made for use by the general public.People most likely to benefit from having a defibrillator in their home are those with known risk factors for cardiac arrest or defibrillation. If you choose not to have a defibrill...