Pacemakers work as well as beta-blockers in reducing symptoms of heart failure and the risk of death, according to a study by European researchers.
Researchers studied 813 patients during a two-and-half-year study and found that using pacemakers to restore failing hearts to a normal rhythm can reduce the death rate from heart failure by 36%, a rate comparable to that of beta-blockers.
Treating patients with pacemakers and beta-blockers increases their rate of survival by 50% compared with patients not getting similar treatment, according to the study results.
The results of the study were presented during a recent meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Orlando.
