Popular Articles

Minnesota Clinics Serving Many More Thanks To Stimulus Dollars
As Minnesota braces for some cuts to public health programs, the state"s network of community health centers is being buoyed by money from the federal stimulus that will expand coverage to the un- and underinsured in that state, The Minnesota Post reports.
diet pills
Promising New Treatment For Alzheimer's Suggested Based On Hebrew University Research
Research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has resulted in a promising approach to help treat Alzheimer"s disease in a significant proportion of the population that suffers from a particularly rapid development of this disease.
News of the day
Looking Criminal Could Get You Arrested
Weak eye-witnesses pick the most criminal looking faces in identity parades. This is one of the findings of Heather Flowe and colleagues from the University of Leicester who will present their research at the British Psychological Society Division of Forensic Psychology Annual Conference today, Wednesday 24th June 2009. The conference is being held the University of Central Lancashire, Preston.
Mental Health

St. Jude Medical Applauds MADIT-CRT Trial

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) commends the efforts of investigators in the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (MADIT-CRT). The early results of the trial indicate that early intervention with CRT-D therapy can slow a patient"s progression from early stage heart failure (NYHA Class I-II) to late stage heart failure (NYHA Class III-IV). The trial, led by Arthur J. Moss, M.D., principal investigator and Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, demonstrated cardiac resynchronization therapy is associated with a significant 29 percent reduction (p=0.003) in death or heart failure interventions when compared to traditional implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy in high risk, asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class I and II patients. About 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure, with 550,000 new cases diagnosed every year, according to the American Heart Association. Currently, patients are typically only given a CRT-D after they have reached NYHA class III or IV heart failure, a much more serious condition. Expanded indications for CRT-D devices based on the MADIT-CRT data would improve the health of many patients in earlier stages of heart failure (NYHA class I and II) by allowing them to receive a CRT-D device. "The MADIT-CRT trial has shown that if intervention is conducted early enough, the outcome for the patient will be better over time," said Mark Carlson, M.D., chief medical officer of the Cardiac Rhythm Management Division of St. Jude Medical. "The next step for our industry is to ensure physicians and patients are aware of the clinically proven effectiveness of this treatment and that they benefit from the currently available cardiac resynchronization therapies." Cardiac resynchronization therapy is used to treat the symptoms and complications associated with certain types of heart failure (HF). CRT is administered using a pacemaker, called a CRT-P, or an ICD with pacing capabilities, called a CRT-D. A CRT-D has the added ability to defibrillate the heart if a patient is at risk for life-threatening arrhythmias. CRT stimulates both of the heart"s lower chambers so that they are "synchronized" and more efficient in pumping blood to the body. The stimulation takes place via a pulse generator (the ICD or pacemaker) and pacing leads, which are placed next to the heart"s tissue and deliver electrical impulses to the heart. St. Jude Medical


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):