Heart Beat

Steering clear of pacemaker infections

As the number of people who get pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) grows year after year, so too does the number of people who develop infections from them. Up to 6% of people who get a pacemaker or ICD develop an infection from it, and the infection rate is growing faster than the implantation rate. Some of these infections are minor; some are very serious.

Finding factors that promote or prevent infection can help reduce this complication. French researchers did just that by combing through a database that included information on more than 6,000 people who had a pacemaker or ICD implanted. In this group, the chance of developing a post-procedure infection was increased by