New Clinical Studies Support Broader Use Of CardioNet System For The Detection Of Atrial Fibrillation

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 12 Jan 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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CardioNet, Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAT), a leading wireless medical technology company with an initial focus on the diagnosis and monitoring of cardiac arrhythmias, announced the publication of two studies and the presentation of two abstracts that further support the broader use of the CardioNet System for the detection of atrial fibrillation (AF). The studies demonstrate the CardioNet System's ability to detect clinically significant AF events in patients following ischemic stroke or surgical AF ablation procedures.

Arie Cohen, President and CEO, commented: "The clinically proven effectiveness of the CardioNet System provides physicians the opportunity to detect any patients that relapse with AF events, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, therefore enabling the physician to prescribe additional treatment or drug therapy in cases where the AF has reoccurred. We believe these studies, combined with the recent launch of our enhanced AF reporting package, will drive further adoption of our system by physicians for the evaluation of catheter and surgical ablation procedures and by physicians evaluating the presence of AF in stroke patients."

The first study is titled "Atrial Fibrillation Detected by Mobile Cardiac Outpatient Telemetry in Cryptogenic TIA or Stroke," authored by A.H. Tayal, M.D., Allegheny General Hospital, Comprehensive Stroke Center and published in the November 18, 2008 issue of Neurology. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the feasibility of detecting AF in patients with stroke of undetermined etiology through prolonged monitoring. The study concluded that the CardioNet System detected a high rate of AF (23%) in patients that have experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke for which the etiology was indeterminable through standard diagnostic evaluation methods.

Dr. Tayal, senior author of the study, commented: "Our study showed that mobile cardiac outpatient telemetry had a high rate of AF detection, including asymptomatic and short events, which may be a biomarker of prolonged and clinically significant AF. Such patients may benefit from anticoagulation and may not have been diagnosed with AF through standard methods."

Evelio Rodriguez, M.D., Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, presented an abstract from a study titled "Cryo-Maze for Concomitant Atrial Fibrillation: Mid-Term Results using CardioNet Home Monitoring Testing" at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Association of Thoracic Surgeons on October 3, 2008. The study utilized the CardioNet System for home monitoring of patients that underwent concomitant AF ablation to determine the efficacy of the procedure. The authors of the study noted that rhythm assessment after ablation with electrocardiogram (ECG) and/or Holter monitors has been shown to overestimate success, which led to their selection of the CardioNet System for the study. The study concluded that home monitoring with the CardioNet System should become standard of care after interventions performed to restore sinus rhythm in patients with AF.

Two additional studies utilized the CardioNet System for post-operative management and follow-up of patients that underwent surgical procedures to treat AF:

- "Toward a Definitive, Totally Thoracoscopic Procedure for Atrial Fibrillation" - authored by John Sirak, M.D., Ohio State University Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Columbus, Ohio and published in the December 8, 2008 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

- "Surgical Correction Of Atrial Fibrillation With The Cryomaze Procedure: Long-term Outcomes Assessed With Continuous Outpatient Telemetry" - abstract presented by James Gammie, M.D., University of Maryland Medical Center, at the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association 55th Annual Meeting on November 6, 2008.

To date there have been 19 published clinical papers and abstracts on the capabilities and efficacy of the CardioNet System. This includes the landmark study that demonstrated the CardioNet System to be nearly 3X superior in diagnosing clinically significant arrhythmias as compared to loop event monitoring.

About CardioNet, Inc.

CardioNet is the leading provider of ambulatory, continuous, real-time outpatient management solutions for monitoring relevant and timely clinical information regarding an individual's health. CardioNet's initial efforts are focused on the diagnosis and monitoring of cardiac arrhythmias, or heart rhythm disorders, with a solution that it markets as the CardioNet System. More information can be found at http://www.cardionet.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, acceptance and adoption of our AF reporting package, the prospects for our products in general and our confidence in the Company's future. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "project", "intend", "plan", "believe", and other words and terms of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including important factors that could delay, divert, or change any of them, and could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from current expectations. These factors include, among other things, the success of our sales and marketing initiatives, our ability to attract and retain talented sales personnel, the commercialization of new products, market factors, internal research and development initiatives, partnered research and development initiatives, competitive product development, changes in governmental regulations and legislation, changes to reimbursement levels for our products, the continued consolidation of payors, acceptance of our new products and services and patent protection and litigation. For further details and a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, please see our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our latest periodic report on Form 10-K or 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

CardioNet, Inc.