St. Jude Medical Applauds MADIT-CRT Trial

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 25 Jun 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) commends the efforts of investigators in the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (MADIT-CRT). The early results of the trial indicate that early intervention with CRT-D therapy can slow a patient's progression from early stage heart failure (NYHA Class I-II) to late stage heart failure (NYHA Class III-IV).

The trial, led by Arthur J. Moss, M.D., principal investigator and Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, demonstrated cardiac resynchronization therapy is associated with a significant 29 percent reduction (p=0.003) in death or heart failure interventions when compared to traditional implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy in high risk, asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class I and II patients.

About 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure, with 550,000 new cases diagnosed every year, according to the American Heart Association. Currently, patients are typically only given a CRT-D after they have reached NYHA class III or IV heart failure, a much more serious condition. Expanded indications for CRT-D devices based on the MADIT-CRT data would improve the health of many patients in earlier stages of heart failure (NYHA class I and II) by allowing them to receive a CRT-D device.

"The MADIT-CRT trial has shown that if intervention is conducted early enough, the outcome for the patient will be better over time," said Mark Carlson, M.D., chief medical officer of the Cardiac Rhythm Management Division of St. Jude Medical. "The next step for our industry is to ensure physicians and patients are aware of the clinically proven effectiveness of this treatment and that they benefit from the currently available cardiac resynchronization therapies."

Cardiac resynchronization therapy is used to treat the symptoms and complications associated with certain types of heart failure (HF). CRT is administered using a pacemaker, called a CRT-P, or an ICD with pacing capabilities, called a CRT-D. A CRT-D has the added ability to defibrillate the heart if a patient is at risk for life-threatening arrhythmias. CRT stimulates both of the heart's lower chambers so that they are "synchronized" and more efficient in pumping blood to the body. The stimulation takes place via a pulse generator (the ICD or pacemaker) and pacing leads, which are placed next to the heart's tissue and deliver electrical impulses to the heart.

Source
St. Jude Medical

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