Defibrillator saves man who was shot in the chest

[October 08, 2009]  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A defibrillator was credited with stopping a bullet in the chest of a gunshot victim. Doctors in Florida said the 61-year-old unidentified man had an Medtronic implantable cardiac defibrillator to prevent sudden cardiac arrest.

 The October edition of the journal Heart Rhythm said the man suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, but had no damage to his lungs or circulatory system because the bullet became lodged in the stopwatch-sized device.

Surgeons removed metal fragments and the device from the man's chest and he was discharged from the hospital the next day.

Medtronic spokeswoman Catherine Peloquin said it's good to know the device was able to help in "a nontraditional way."

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Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com/

[Associated Press]

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