AHRQ to Collaborate on ICD Study

HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will work with the American College of Cardiology and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study the long-term risks and benefits of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). The study will follow 3,500 patients with ICDs to assess the frequency and necessity of electric shocks delivered by the devices to correct arrhythmias, and to identify patients likely to require the shocks, AHRQ says.