A pacemaker is a small device that doctors place in people with an abnormal heartbeat. If a heart beats too slowly, the pacemaker will use electrical signals to help set a normal rate. Some devices include a defibrillator, which gives a shock if the heart beats too fast. Pacemakers may be permanent or temporary.
But one thing is sure. Developing countries need more of them as more people get heart disease. A big problem, however, is the cost. Buying and implanting a pacemaker costs from five thousand to fifteen thousand dollars. But doctors at the University of Michigan think they know a way to lower that cost. The idea is to reuse pacemakers. Heart doctor Timir Baman estimates that more than one million people worldwide need pacemakers each year.
He says reusing a pacemaker is an ethical way to provide health care to those who have no other way to get one.He got the idea a few years ago. One of his patients asked if someone might be given her pacemaker for reuse after she died. But are used pacemakers safe? Dr. Baman studied medical reports about the safety of pacemakers that were being reused in small studies.
He says: “We found that there’s no real difference in device infection or device malfunction when you compare it to new pacemaker implantation.”Funeral directors normally remove pacemakers when preparing bodies for cremation. Pacemakers can explode if they are burned. So Dr. Baman asked funeral directors in Michigan to send the pacemakers to him. He and other researchers at the University of Michigan Medical Center tested the used pacemakers.
They cleaned and disinfected the ones in good working order. Then they sent them to doctors in the Philippines, Vietnam and Ghana. The doctors successfully implanted the used pacemakers in twelve patients. The findings were recently presented at a conference in Washington of the American Heart Association. Now, Timir Baman has asked the United States Food and Drug Administration for approval to do a larger test. He says — speaking by Skype from his office in Ann Arbor, Michigan — that he is hopeful the program will work. He hopes other centers in the United States and Europe can form their own programs and help countries in Africa and Asia that have no other access to these kinds of devices. And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report.
Words in This Story
pacemaker – n. the person or animal that establishes the speed in a race, or a person or organization
that is an example for others by being successful
abnormal – adj. different from what is usual or average, especially in a way that is bad
defibrillator – n. a machine that uses an electric current to stop any irregular and dangerous activity of the heart’s muscles, used especially in hospitals
implant – v. to put an organ, group of cells, or device into the body in a medical operation
ethic – n. a system of accepted beliefs that control behaviour, especially such a system based on morals
malfunction – n. a situation in which a machine or system stops working normally
funeral director – n. a person whose job it is to arrange for the bodies of dead people to be buried or burned
cremation – n. the act of burning a dead body, or a part of a funeral ceremony in which this is done
explode – v. to break up into pieces violently, or to cause something to do this
disinfect – v. to clean something using chemicals that kill bacteria and other very small living things that cause disease
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