Tiny implants correct abnormal heart rhythms, then report life-threatening problems to cardiologists many miles away.

A Michigan man in his 50s felt the thump in his chest when the little device implanted there, smaller than a pack of cards, delivered a corrective shock to his heart muscle.

Bedside unit transmits data from the heart.

The device, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), restored a normal rhythm. And it recorded and sent data about the man’s heart through telephone lines to the Cleveland Clinic, more than 200 miles away. Within minutes, doctors there were able to analyze the problem apparent in his electrocardiogram, and reconstruct what had gone wrong. They faxed the findings to a local emergency room shortly before the man arrived. …

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