When cardiologists implant defibrillators in patients at high risk of dying from a heart rhythm disorder they nearly always perform a defibrillation test in which they induce a lethal arrhythmia, ventricular fibrillation, to make sure the device accurately detects the arrhythmia and terminates it with an appropriate shock. But routine defibrillation testing has never been shown to be safe or necessary. In recent years some experts have maintained that routine defibrillation testing may not be necessary.
Now a new study, presented yesterday at the Heart Rhythm Society meeting in San Francisco, offers evidence that although routine testing is generally safe it may increase complications without producing any improvement in outcomes.
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