Life Versus Death

Life versus death.

Randomized clinical trials have clearly shown that the implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD) saves lives1–3 and that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and combined ICD and CRT devices reduce both heart failure and mortality.4–6 However, during long-term follow-up of patients with these implanted devices, only a minority will use appropriate ICD therapy for life-threatening ventricular tac...

Life & Death

life insurance policy (college freshman), about the same as the Gettysburg Address, and much less readable than Hemingway (fifth grade level). I used more words per sentence than Hemingway (18.5 versus 13.5) but less than Lincoln (26.8). I used longer words than any of the references (4.8 letters per word, versus 4.0 for Hemingway) but used fewer prepositions (10.7 percent) than any of the othe...

Death rates versus deaths.

To the Editor: In the October 24, 2000, issue of Circulation, Morrow et al1 present a simple, validated scoring system (1 through 14 points) using clinical variables to measure the risk of mortality after ST-elevation myocardial infarction. In this system, risk rises progressively with higher scores and is maximal for a composite score .8. The authors state that a score .6 identifies a segment ...

Relitigating life and death.

From death comes life

Feeding on the dead: White rot fungi, like this shiitake mushroom, have the unusual ability to digest dead wood, making them key players in the decomposition of plant litter. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.) Not where he eats, but where he is eaten: a certain convocation of politic worms are e’en at him. Your worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselv...