Wait-and-see policy on heart devices puts lives at risk, says UK charity

Exclusive: Study finds little benefit in making patients wait months to be fitted with implantable defibrillators

Patients are needlessly being put at risk of dying from heart problems because they have to wait months to be fitted with lifesaving implantable defibrillators, experts have said.

Two million people in the UK live with coronary heart disease, which is a leading cause of heart failure. Those at the highest risk of dying as a result of heart failure may be offered an implantable cardioverter defibrillator device (ICD). These can kickstart the heart and may save their life.