September 25, 2015 - ZOLL LifeVest Wearable Defibrillator to Be Showcased at Heart Failure Society of America 2015

CONTACT:

Diane Egan
ZOLL Medical Corporation
+1 (978) 421-9637
[email protected]
 

ZOLL LIFEVEST WEARABLE DEFIBRILLATOR TO BE SHOWCASED AT HEART FAILURE SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015

September 25, 2015—CHELMSFORD, MASS.—ZOLL® Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that it will display the LifeVest® Wearable Defibrillator in Booth 507 at the 2015 Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) Annual Meeting, September 26-29 in Washington, D.C.

The LifeVest will be discussed during a scientific session entitled “Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillators in the Newly Diagnosed Heart Failure Patient: Is There a Role?” presented by Valentina Kutyifa, MD, PhD, University of Rochester Medical Center, Sunday, September 27, 11–11:15 a.m., National Harbor Rooms 10–11.

Each year, more than 870,000 new cases of heart failure (HF) are diagnosed in the United States.1 A newly diagnosed HF patient’s condition can improve from the benefits of optimized medical therapy, which can require up to three months or more to stabilize.2 Sudden cardiac death (SCD) accounts for 54% of mortality in HF patients with a low ejection fraction (EF) during medical optimization.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

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, giving physicians time to optimize medical therapy and assess a patient’s long-term risk for sudden death.

In the WEARIT-II prospective registry of 2,000 patients prescribed the LifeVest, the sustained VT/VF event rate was high with 22 events per 100 patient-years—2.1% of patients had a VT/VF event.7 One in 14 patients experienced a clinically meaningful arrhythmia requiring intervention while wearing the LifeVest.7 The LifeVest Network online patient data management system provides customizable tools for physicians and clinicians to access these captured arrhythmias, like atrial fibrillation or non-sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmias, and determine the appropriate intervention.

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 covered by most health plans in the United States, including commercial, state, and federal plans.

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/.

1Mozaffarian D, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2015 Update: A Report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2015;131:e29–e322.
2Hall SA, 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.
3Merit-HF Study Group. Effect of metoprolol CR/XL in chronic heart failure: Metoprolol CR/XL Randomized Intervention Trial in Congestive Heart Failure (MERIT-HF) Lancet 1999;353:2001–7.
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.
7Kutyifa V, et al. Results from the Prospective Registry of Patients Using the Wearable Defibrillator (WEARIT-II Registry), presented as Late Breaking Clinical Trial at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, September 3, 2014.

Copyright © 2015 ZOLL Medical Corporation. LifeVest and ZOLL are trademarks or registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation in the United States and other countries. Asahi Kasei is a registered trademark of Asahi Kasei Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.