Numbers

By Melissa August, Amanda Bower, Rhett Butler, Daren Fonda, Sora Song, Heather Won Tesoriero, Victoria Rainert, Joel Stein

DISHEARTENING Benefits still outweigh risks for 750,000 U.S. patients with an implanted cardiac device. But new stats give pause:

1 in 15 Odds that a pacemaker will be recalled, or a safety alert issued, over a one-year period

1 in 6 Odds that a defibrillator, similar to the one in Vice President Cheney, will suffer the same fate

$870 million Cost of checking and replacing affected devices, 1990-2000

Source: Journal of the American Medical Association