May 20, 2015 - ZOLL LifeVest Wearable Defibrillator to Be Showcased at European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Congress 2015

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Diane Egan
ZOLL Medical Corporation
+1 (978) 421-9637
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ZOLL LIFEVEST WEARABLE DEFIBRILLATOR TO BE SHOWCASED AT EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF CARDIOLOGY HEART FAILURE CONGRESS 2015

May 20, 2015—CHELMSFORD, MASS.—ZOLL® Medical Corporation, a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that it will highlight the LifeVest® Wearable Defibrillator in Booth B80 at the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Congress 2015 from 23-26 May in Seville, Spain.

The LifeVest will be discussed during a symposium entitled “Preventing Sudden Cardiac Death in the Newly Diagnosed Heart Failure Patient,” chaired by Frank Ruschitzka, MD, University of Zurich, and John Morgan, MD, University of Southampton, and presented by Barry Greenberg, MD, University of California San Diego, and Stefan Winter, MD, St. Vinzenz Hospital, Cologne, Monday, 25 May, 12:45-1:45 p.m., Rome Room.

In Europe, heart failure (HF) affects an estimated 15 million people,1 and 3.6 million are newly diagnosed every year.2 Patients newly diagnosed with HF have a high mortality rate, up to 40% in the first year, including a high risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD).3 Compared to the general population, SCD occurs 6-9 times more frequently in HF patients,4 and an acute event such as hospitalization for heart failure decompensation or myocardial infarction increases the SCD risk.5,6 Likewise, an HF patient’s condition can improve from the benefits of optimized medical therapy, which can require up to three months or more to stabilize.7

The LifeVest is worn by patients at risk for SCD, including patients with cardiomyopathy or congestive heart failure that places them at particular risk. The LifeVest provides protection during their changing condition and while permanent SCD risk has not been established, allowing a patient’s physician time to assess his or her long-term arrhythmic risk and make appropriate plans.

The LifeVest is lightweight and easy to wear, allowing patients to return to their common activities of daily living, while having the peace of mind that they are protected from SCD. The LifeVest continuously monitors the patient’s heart and, if a life-threatening heart rhythm is detected, the device delivers a treatment shock to restore normal heart rhythm.

The LifeVest is used for a wide range of patient conditions or situations, including following a heart attack, and before or after bypass surgery or stent placement, as well as cardiomyopathy or congestive heart failure that places patients at particular risk.

About ZOLL Medical Corporation

ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and monitoring, circulation and CPR feedback, data management, fluid resuscitation, therapeutic temperature management, and ventilation, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, and lay rescuers treat victims needing resuscitation and acute critical care. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.

About Asahi Kasei

The Asahi Kasei Group is a diversified group of companies led by holding company Asahi Kasei Corp., with operations in the chemicals and fibers, homes and construction materials, electronics, and health care business sectors. Its health care operations include devices and systems for acute critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals, diagnostic reagents, and nutritional products. With more than 30,000 employees around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group serves customers in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/asahi/en/.

1Dickstein K, Cohen-Solal A, Filippatos G, et al. ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure 2008: the Task Force for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute and Chronic Heart Failure 2008 of the European Society of Cardiology. Developed in collaboration with the Heart Failure Association of the ESC (HFA) and endorsed by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM). Eur Heart J. 2008;29:2388-442.
2Facts and Figures: Heart Failure. European Society of Cardiology website. http://www.escardio.org/static_file/Escardio/Press-media/Facts-Figures-HF09.pdf. Accessed April 29, 2015.
3O’Connor C, et al. Predictors of Mortality after Discharge in Patients Hospitalized with Heart Failure: An Analysis from the Organized Program to Initiate Lifesaving Treatment in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure (OPTIMIZE-HF). Amer Heart J. 2008;156:662-73.
4Rosamond W, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2008 Update: A Report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Circulation. 2008;117: e25-46.
5Adabag AS, Therneau TM, Gersh BJ, et al. Sudden Death after Myocardial Infarction. JAMA. 2008;300:2022-2029.
6Solomon SD, Zelenkofske S, McMurray JV, et al. Sudden Death in Patients with Myocardial Infarction and Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Heart Failure, or Both. NEJM. 2005;352:2581-2588.
7SA, et al. Time Course of Improvement in Left Ventricular Function, Mass and Geometry in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure Treated with Beta-adrenergic Blockade. JACC. 1995;25:1154-61.

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