News Health & Medicine

Refurbished heart pacemakers work like new

The used devices could expand access to the lifesaving technology

Fingers in blue gloves hold a silver pacemaker.

This used pacemaker is in the process of being refurbished in the lab, so doctors can implant it into a new patient.

Robert Miller

By Meghan Rosen

CHICAGO — One person’s used pacemaker is another person’s treasure.

A program to refurbish used pacemakers could expand access to the lifesaving devices. In a clinical trial of nearly 300 people, patients who received refurbished pacemakers fared just as well as those who received new ones, scientists reported November 17 at the annual American Heart Association meeting.