The first patient has been implanted with the Boston Scientific Corporation next generation Ingevity pacing leads in a clinical trial designed to establish the safety, performance and effectiveness of the leads. Pacing leads are insulated wires that connect an implantable pacemaker to the heart for treatment of bradycardia, a condition in which the heart beats too slowly, depriving the body of sufficient oxygen. Pacemakers work in conjunction with leads to sense and stimulate (or pace) the heart, thus maintaining an appropriate heart rate for a given level of physical activity.

Among deployed U.S. service members who died of combat or unintentional injuries between 2001-2011 and underwent autopsies, the prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis was 8.5 percent, with factors associated with a higher prevalence of the disease including older age, lower educational level and prior diagnoses of dyslipidemia, hypertension and obesity, according to a clinical study in the Dec. 26 issue of JAMA.