A heart study done at a hospital in central Iowa and in dozens nationwide didn’t bode well for medications designed to keep hearts beating in rhythm. The study done in part at the Iowa Heart Center in Des Moines tested people with a history of heart disease & irregular heartbeats. Center cardiologist Dr. Ben Johnson says the drugs designed to prevent the irregular beats did NOT help a patient’s chances for survival. He says many Iowans are plagued by irregular heartbeats. Dr. Johnson says the study found implantable defibrillators ARE a lifesaver for heart patients — those devices can shock the heart back into rhythm with it gets off track. Presidential candidate Bill Bradley was recently hospitalized for heart problems -similar- to those of patients in the study, but Johnson says there is a key difference. He says Bradley’s problem is easy to treat with medication. Results of the study are being published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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