Medtronic, Inc. today announced the results from the first prospective randomized clinical trial to show that Medtronic implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) can safely extend detection times before triggering therapy in secondary prevention patients. The results of the PainFree SST sub-study, unveiled today as a late-breaking presentation at the Heart Rhythm Society's 35th Annual Scientific Sessions, demonstrate that physicians can choose to program ICDs with delayed detection interval settings without compromising safety for high-risk patients.

New data presented as a late-breaking clinical trial at the Heart Rhythm Society's 2014 Annual Scientific Sessions show that an advanced pacing feature exclusive to Medtronic, Inc. pacemakers significantly delays the progression of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with bradycardia (slow heart beat). Results from the MINERVA (MINimizERight Ventricular pacing to prevent Atrial fibrillation and heart failure) Study found that the Reactive ATP® algorithm reduced the development of persistent AF by a 58 percent relative reduction compared to standard pacemakers (p<0.001). 

Patients using the Boston Scientific Corporation LATITUDE™ Remote Patient Management system with wireless telemetry demonstrated significantly lower mortality and fewer hospitalizations than patients with LATITUDE-compatible devices who were not followed on the system, according to results from the PREDICt-RM study (Patient RElated Determinants of ICD RemoteMonitoring Utilization and Outcomes). The results were presented today at Heart Rhythm 2014, the Heart Rhythm Society's 35th Annual Scientific Sessions in San Francisco.

Keep it simple, … Well, you know the rest. Physicians now can apply that advice to defibrillator testing of cardiac devices during implantation, based on results from the SIMPLE trial presented May 8 at the Heart Rhythm Society’s scientific session in San Francisco. The practice was found to be safe but unnecessary.

The FDA issued a Class I recall on test strips used to measure a patient’s international normalized ratio (INR) due to reports that ranges found through its product differed significantly from results in tests performed in a laboratory.

The FDA approved a pacemaker system that allows the patient to undergo MR imaging scans with a limited exclusion zone.

Medtronic, Inc. today announced CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark receipt and the European launch of its newest cardiac resynchronization therapy-pacemaker, Viva CRT-P. The Viva CRT-P is not approved for sale in the United States.

Some like it hot; some like it cold. Whether by radio frequency or cryoballoon, ablation interventions have been edging out medical therapy as an efficacious treatment for atrial fibrillation in some patients. But that doesn’t always translate into success, clinically or financially. Costs, recurrences and lack of proof that the procedures offer a stroke benefit pose challenges.