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Press Release Archive (2013)

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Lowell General Hospital Receives Grant from St. Jude Medical

Pacemaker/ICD Support Group at Lowell General Hospital Provides Lifestyle Assistance to Heart Patients

St. Jude Medical, a provider of medical devices such as pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), recently awarded Lowell General Hospital with a $2,500 grant to help fund the hospital’s ICD Support Group. Established by the Heart and Vascular Center at Lowell General Hospital, the group provides a valuable resource to community members living with implanted cardiac devices free of charge.

Lowell General Hospital is the only hospital in the Merrimack Valley that implants ICDs. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator is a small device that's placed in the chest. The device uses electrical pulses or shocks to help control life-threatening, irregular heartbeats, especially those that could cause sudden cardiac arrest. Support services after a cardiac device is in place are important for patients to resume an active life and eliminate some of the uncertainty or fears that people may have.

“The grant from St Jude Medical will allow us to continue an educational program that shows people how to resume their active, everyday life and enjoy it to the fullest,” says Kathy Laferriere, Cardiac Health Educator at Lowell General Hospital. “This program helps to explain more fully the purpose of an ICD, address their fears or concerns, and encourage them to safely return to a productive life with their ICD.”

The ICD Support Group is lead by cardiac nurses and covers topics such as traveling, exercising and day-to-day living. For more information about the Heart and Vascular Center at Lowell General Hospital or the support group, please visit the hospital's Web site.

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