A new study in the journal Heart Rhythm shows the utility of Zoll Medical‘s LifeVest wearable defibrillator for a subset of patients who don’t start out with the device.
Researchers found that using the company’s LifeVest for patients who must have their implantable cardioverter defibrillator removed due to infection ends up being a solid option. It’s a cost-effective way to keep patients from succumbing to sudden cardiac death, and keeps them viable as they wait for a new ICD, according to the study.
"The [wearable cardioverter-defibrillator] is likely cost-effective at protecting patients against [sudden cardiac arrest] following infected ICD removal while waiting for ICD reimplantation as compared to keeping patients in the hospital or discharging them home or to a skilled nursing facility," the researchers wrote.
Their study found that it cost patients an average $1,805 to wear LifeVest, but they had better outcomes than discharging patients who had their ICDs removed due to infection and were sent home without a wearable device or a new ICD. LifeVest was also a more cost-effective option than discharging patients who had their ICDs removed for infection to a nursing home or hospital, according to the study.
The catch is that the wearable defibrillator was only cost-effective assuming there was at least 2 weeks to reimplantation.