Medical Device Link.

Results of a new clinical study could bolster the market for implantable heart devices. Published in the September 1 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, the study revealed that using cardiac resynchronization therapy devices (CRTs) combined with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) decreased the risk of heart failure events in certain patients. The findings also demonstrate the effectiveness of CRTs and ICDs in lowering the risk of heart-failure events in patents who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic.

The four-year study involved patients who had congestive heart failure but only experienced mild cardiac symptoms. Patients who had the CRT-ICD combination implant experienced a 40% reduction in hospital admissions related to heart failure. This figure is compared with patients who had only an ICD implanted.

According to analysts, an approval for using the CRT-ICD combination for early intervention could boost the global implantable device market by hundreds of millions of dollars. The president of Boston Scientific’s cardiac rhythm management division, Fred Cohen, told the Boston Globe that the company will apply for the expanded indication of the combined device by the end of this year. He stated that an indication expansion will push growth in the U.S. defibrillator market by nearly $250 million during the next 2–3 years, and up to $400 million–$500 million globally.

For more information about the study, check out at PrecisionTalk