The Zoll LifeVest is a temporary, wearable defibrillator designed as a safety net for patients, especially those being evaluated for a permanent implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The Vest Prevention of Early Sudden Death Trial (VEST), presented at ACC 2018, was the first randomized, controlled, multi-center trial of the wearable cardioverter defibrillator. It looked to see if this device could effectively reduce sudden death in patients who had recently suffered a heart attack and had reduced heart function. Read more about the VEST Trial. 

Emanuel Kanal, M.D., director of MRI services and professor of radiology and neuroradiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, explains the new mobile application he developed, which lets users visually model the forces at work during an MRI exam on patients with implanted medical devices, at the 2017 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting.

Read the related article “The Changing Relationship Between MRIs and Pacemakers.”

This video, provided by Acutus Medical, demonstrates a patient case showing the use of the AcQMap high-resolution electrophysiology (EP) mapping system. The system was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October 2017. Read about the FDA approval. See more about this system in the VIDEO "Editor's Choice of Most Innovative New Technology at HRS 2017."

Andrea Natale, M.D., FACC, FHRS, FESC, executive medical director, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David's Medical Center, discusses how to build an electrophysiology (EP) program at the 2017 Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) annual meeting.

He explains what centers need to consider when creating an EP program, including what is required for device programs that include pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), as well as the technologies and know-how for catheter ablation programs. He discusses who should be involved in creating an EP program and how EP needs to interface with other departments and subspecialties around the hospital.

Natale is a world recognized leader in the field of electrophysiology. Prior to the establishment of Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David’s Medical Center, Natale was a member of the Cardiovascular Medicine Department at the Cleveland Clinic from 1999 to 2007, and served as section head for the Department of Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology and as medical director for the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Atrial Fibrillation. In 2006, Dr. Natale was named to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Task Force on Atrial Fibrillation.

Read the article "Growing a Cardiac Rhythm Program in a Community Setting."
 

DAIC Editor Dave Fornell takes a tour of some of the most innovative new electrophysiology (EP) technology at the 2017 Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) annual meeting. This included new ablation and electromapping systems to improve cardiac ablation effectiveness, new wearable monitoring technologies that are replacing traditional Holter monitors, implantable cardiac monitors, new pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), and other EP lab technologies. 

Find links and more news from the Heart Rhythm Society 2017 late-breaking electrophysiology trials.
 

Vivek Reddy, M.D., director of cardiac arrhythmia services and professor of medicine, cardiology, Mount Sinai Hospital, N.Y., discusses advancements in leadless pacemaker technology at the 2017 Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) annual meeting. He explains the pros and cons of leadless pacemaker technology as it stands today. One of the issues is that leadless pacing is currently limited to single chamber pacing, while most patients require dual chamber pacing. Reddy discusses the technology that currently has U.S. FDA market clearance, the Medtronic Micra, and new technologies in development to overcome the limitations the Micra.

Read the related articles “Leadless Endocardial CRT Pacing Effective for Heart Failure Patients,” and “New Data Showcases Long-term Benefits of Nanostim Leadless Pacemaker.”

Hugh Calkins, M.D., FACC, FAHA, FHRS, director of cardiac arrhythmia services and professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, discusses advancements in AF ablation at the 2017 Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) annual meeting. Read about the new AF expert consensus statement released at HRS 2017.

Related Content:

VIDEO: Current State of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Technologies — Interview with Hugh Calkins, M.D.,

New Technologies to Improve Atrial Fibrillation Ablation

Landmark CABANA Trial Confirms Ablation Equal To or Superior to Drug Therapy

VIDEO: Cryoballoon Ablation Best Practice Guidelines — Wilber Su, M.D.

This video, provided by Medtronic, demonstrates the implantation of Micra transcatheter pacing system (TPS). The device is a leadless pacemaker for single chamber pacing and eliminated the need for a surgical pocket or transvenous leads. The design concept is to simplify pacemaker implantation and eliminate the need for leads, which open the patient up to additional device and infection complications. 

Watch the VIDEO “Current State of Leadless Pacemaker Technology,” an interview with Vivek Reddy, M.D., at the Heart Rhythm Society 2017 meeting.

Related Micra Leadless Pacemaker Content:

FDA Clears Medtronic Micra AV to Treat AV Block

New Pacemaker Technologies

Novel Mechanical Sensor in Medtronic Micra Transcatheter Pacing System Detects Atrial Contractions, Restores AV Synchrony

New Algorithms in Medtronic Micra Pacemaker May Improve Synchrony and Cardiac Function in AV Block

FDA Approves World's Smallest Pacemaker for U.S. Patients

Safety, Performance of the World's Smallest Pacemaker Reinforced in Real-world Patients

One-Year Results for Micra TPS Pacemaker Trial Presented at ESC 2016

Leadless Pacemaker Gains Medicare Reimbursement

Wireless and Leadless Pacemaker Being Developed by Texas Heart Institute With Federal Grant

DAIC Editor Dave Fornell takes a tour of some of the interesting new technologies from the vendor booths on the expo floor at the 2017 meeting of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). For key technology trends at ACC.17, watch the VIDEO "Cardiac Technology Trends at ACC.17."

William Abraham, M.D., FACC, discusses advances in heart failure device treatment technologies at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2016 annual meeting. He is director of the division of cardiovascular medicine and a professor of internal medicine, physiology and cell biology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He also served as principal investigator of the CHAMPION Trial for the CardioMEMS device. Read the article "Reducing Heart Failure Readmissions."

With quality of care and cost efficiency at the top of your mind, there is no room in your hospital for waste from high-value supplies. However, managing your critical supplies in the cath lab can be a challenge. How can you get the supply waste in your facility under control? Watch this short video to learn how an automated inventory management solution could help you reduce the waste in your hospital while improving your total cost of care. For more information visit www.cardinalhealth.com.

This video, provided by Respicardia, demonstrates the Remede System is a pacemaker-like implantable device. It is designed to improve cardiovascular health by restoring natural breathing during sleep in patients with central sleep apnea. In this video from The Ohio State University, William Abraham, M.D., director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, explains how the technology works and highlights one patient case involved in a recent study of the device. 

David Holmes, M.D., professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and consultant, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, shares details from his presentations at American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2016 regarding the Watchman left atrial appendage (LAA) occluder. The big news from ACC regarding LAA occluders was his presentation of real-life experience of centers using the Watchman outside of trials. 

Learn about the trends and new technology in electrophysiology (EP) in an interview with David Wilber, M.D., editor of JACC's Clinical EP, and medical director, clinical electrophysiology, director, Cardiovascular Institute, co-director, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Loyola University Medical Center, Chicago.

Paul Keall, Ph.D., FAAP, professor and NHMRC Australian Fellow at Radiation Physics Laboratory at the University of Sydney, Sydney Medical School, discusses radiosurgery beyond cancer.

DAIC Editor Dave Fornell offers his choices of the most innovative new cardiovascular technologies discussed in sessions and shown on the expo floor at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2013 meeting.

McKesson highlighted enhancements to its cardiovascular information system (CVIS) version 13. The system offers new modules for electrophysiology, inventory control and aids interoperability for better change capture and data mining. For more information, visit www.allaboutCVIS.com

Data was presented during the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) 2012 scientific sessions that showed the Riata ICD lead had a higher malfunction rate than comparable leads. The results from "Independent Multicenter Study of Riata and Riata ST Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) Leads" were presented by Raed H. Abdelhadi, M.D., FACC, a cardiologist and electrophysiologist researcher at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.

Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) President-Elect Hugh Calkins, M.D., FACC, director, cardiac arrhythmia services and EP lab, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., offers an overview of trends and top news in electrophysiology at the HRS 2012 scientific sessions. For more information: www.DIcardiology.com

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are safe in patients who participate in sports, according to a study presented during Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) 2012. Rachel Lampert, M.D., associate professor of medicine, section of cardiovascular medicine, Yale School of Medicine, explains the study findings during a press briefing at HRS. For more information: www.DIcardiology.com