The results of a study presented at the recent American Heart Association Scientific Sessions indicate that patients with a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) who experience a "major" infection face a significant risk of mortality and impaired quality of life.

As Cardiac Rhythm News (CRN) reports, major infection was defined as "… resulting in CIED system removal, an invasive CIED procedure, treatment with long-term suppressive antibiotic therapy with infection recurrence after discontinuation of antibiotic therapy, or resulting in death."

The study, which involved nearly 7,000 patients, found that a major infection was associated with a threefold risk of mortality at one year and impaired quality of life through six months.

The study was presented by Dr. Bruce Wilkoff of Cleveland Clinic. CRN quotes him as concluding, "This large, prospective analysis corroborates and extends understanding of the impact of CIED infections as seen in real-world datasets. CIED infections severely impact mortality, quality of life, healthcare utilization and cost in the U.S. healthcare system."

CIEDs include "… pacemakers for bradyarrhythmia treatment, implantable cardioverter defibrillators for tachyarrhythmia management and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices for systolic dysfunction with conduction delays, according to the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.