New research presented at Heart Rhythm 2013 continues to show promising results for focal impulse and rotor modulation (FIRM) mapping to effectively target atrial fibrillation (AF) sources and improves ablation therapy outcomes. The novel diagnostic real-time mapping system helps target ablation therapy to patient-specific drivers of AF rather than to anatomical targets, which can improve patient outcomes.

The incremental mortality in implantable pacemaker and defibrillator recipients who experience a device infection, compared to patients without device infection, is substantial and persists for at least three years after index hospitalization with infection. These are the key findings of a retrospective cohort study of 200,219 Medicare fee-for-service patients undergoing cardiac device procedures, with and without infection, that were presented today by M. Rizwan Sohail, M.D., a researcher from the Mayo Clinic divisions of infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases, at Heart Rhythm 2013, the Heart Rhythm Society’s 34^th Annual Scientific Sessions.

St. Jude Medical gained CE mark approval of its Ilumien Optis percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) optimization system to better visualize stent planning and navigation. The system integrates both fractional flow reserve (FFR) technology to measure pressure inside the coronary arteries and intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging technology, in one system.