NEWS
RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bobbie Boyd, Director of Public Relations
& Community Outreach
Advanced Cardiac Specialists
Cell Phone: (602) 570-7069 E-mail:
bobbie.boyd@acs-im.com
FIRST CARDIAC RESYNCHRONIZATION THERAPY DEFIBRILLATOR
IMPLANT IN THE UNITED STATES
New Technology Improves Quality of Life and Prevents Sudden Cardiac Death for 4.8 Million Americans with Congestive Heart Failure
Mesa,
Arizona (August 20, 2004) - Robert M. Siegel M.D. placed the first ALTO© 2 MSP 627 cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) defibrillator for a
pre-market clinical study in the United States. The procedure was
performed on July 13, 2004 at Mesa General Hospital in Arizona.
The
new device is being evaluated in a clinical trial in the United States. Dr. Siegel, the Medical Director of Advanced
Cardiac Specialists, is one of the Principal Investigators for the trial. This new biventricular pacemaker and
automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) device is specifically
indicated for patients with advanced heart failure. It is unique in that
it combines two potentially life saving therapies into one device:
1) Cardiac
resynchronization therapy (“bi-ventricular pacing”):
Standard
pacemakers use single leads implanted in the right ventricle (lower chamber of
the heart) or dual leads implanted in the right atrium (upper chamber of the
heart) and right ventricular chambers.
Patients with heart failure often have asynchrony in the contraction of
both ventricles of the heart. Through
“bi-ventricular pacing”, with leads in the left ventricle and right
ventricle, and the right atrium, this device helps synchronize the contraction
of both ventricles, thus improving cardiac performance and improving the
patient’s symptoms of fatigue and breathlessness. In the long term, CRT
is expected to improve the quality of life in selected patients with advanced
heart failure.
2) Antitachycardia therapy:
This
is the second component of the new device.
Patients with advanced heart failure due to poor pump function of the
heart are frequently prone to develop sudden abnormal rapid and irregular heart
rhythms that arise in the weakened ventricle(s). Such “tachy-arrhythmias” are often dangerous and may lead to
sudden cardiac arrest and even death. As many as 40 percent of patients
with heart failure may be vulnerable to develop “sudden cardiac death”.
The “antitachycardia” component of the device addresses serious ventricular
arrhythmias and increases the chances of survival of such patients by
preventing the development of sudden cardiac death.
The ALTO© 2 MSP 627 cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) defibrillator was launched in Europe in May 2004. The device is made by Sorin Group, ELA Medical, Inc. Advanced Cardiac Specialists is an Arizona statewide cardiology and internal medicine practice based in Phoenix.