Medtronic receives CE mark for Viva and Brava CRT-D devices for heart failure patients

Medtronic Inc has received CE Mark in Europe for its Viva and Brava Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy with Defibrillation (CRT-D) devices for treating patients with heart failure. The family of CRT-Ds features a new algorithm, called AdaptivCRT(R), which significantly improves heart failure patients' response rate to CRT-D therapy, as compared to historical CRT trials, by preserving the patients' normal heart rhythms and by continuously adapting to individual patient needs.

AdaptivCRT's algorithm continually adjusts to the patient's dynamic intrinsic conduction, and enables more natural contractions as it synchronizes ventricular contraction. In addition, patients in the AdaptivCRT study with the algorithm experienced a reduction in right ventricular pacing by 44%, thus reducing unnecessary right ventricular pacing and extending the longevity of CRT-D devices.

Findings from a new study, which will be presented at the European Society of Cardiology's ESC Congress 2012 in Munich, show that patients' response to therapy with AdaptivCRT was 12% (absolute) higher than in historical CRT trials. In historical trials, heart failure patients had their CRT pacing parameters optimized using time-consuming, echocardiography-guided AV programming, and experienced an average response rate of 66%.