Breakthrough Algorithms Predict Sudden Cardiac Death Risk

AHA in Chicago: GE Healthcare announced this week that it is the only company with two patented algorithms that meet new MN guidelines that help physicians predict whether a patient is at risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD).

“It is GE’s hope that the wealth of detailed, accurate cardiac information provided by these algorithms will help physicians better understand which patients are at highest risk for SCD and enable them to prescribe proactive treatments that can help reduce these deaths,” said Dr. Matthias Weber, vice president of GE Healthcare’s Diagnostic Cardiology business.

When inputted with ambulatory (Holter) electrocardiography (ECG) data, GE’s patented, breakthrough algorithms — Marquette Modified Moving Average (MMA) T-Wave Alternans algorithm and the Marquette Heart Rate Turbulence algorithm –have been shown to help predict if a person is at risk for SCD. A cardiac stress test, when conducted with GE’s CASE stress test system and CardioSoft software, uses the MMA T-Wave Alternans algorithm to evaluate a patient’s risk of SCD.

GE’s Heart Rate Turbulence algorithm measures and compares the heart rate before and after premature beats, providing comparison data used to measure how the patient’s heart and autonomic nervous system work together, which can determine cardiac health.

“Used together, these algorithms interpret complex cardiac rhythms that provide a more accurate, advanced way to determine which patients are at risk for SCD and would benefit most from a implantable defibrillator,” said Dr. Richard L. Verrier, associate professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “This noninvasive and portable method for diagnosing patients should significantly benefit those patients who may be at higher risk for SCD or help in prescribing the most appropriate therapies to prevent SCD.”

For more information visit www.gehealthcare.com.