CardioExchange Archive

March 7th, 2012

Software Tool Could Provide Early Warning of ICD Lead Failure

Larry Husten, PHD

In recent years, defects in ICD leads have caused recalls and provoked broad concerns among healthcare professionals and patients alike about the safety and reliability of ICDs and other implanted cardiac devices. Now a key player in these events proposes that a computer software program can better monitor ICD leads and provide earlier warnings of […]

---

January 31st, 2011

Women and Younger Patients May Be At Higher Risk For Sprint Fidelis Failure

Larry Husten, PHD

Women, younger patients, those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and those with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia or channelopathies may be more likely to develop Sprint Fidelis lead failure. Robert Hauser and colleagues at the Minneapolis Heart Institute, the Mayo Clinic, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center analyzed data from 1023 patients who received Fidelis leads and 1668 […]

---

September 28th, 2010

ICD Software Upgrade Can Reduce Inappropriate Shocks from Faulty Leads

Larry Husten, PHD

A software upgrade for ICDs can help reduce inappropriate shocks, according to a study published online in Circulation. Following reports of high failure rates of Sprint Fidelis defibrillation leads, a software program known as a lead-integrity alert (LIA) was developed for download into previously implanted ICDs. Charles Swerdlow and colleagues compared 213 ICD patients who received the […]

---