August 25, 2016 - ZOLL LifeVest Wearable Defibrillator Proven Safe and Effective in Largest German Registry

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Diane Egan
ZOLL Medical Corporation
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ZOLL LIFEVEST WEARABLE DEFIBRILLATOR PROVEN SAFE AND EFFECTIVE IN LARGEST GERMAN REGISTRY

August 25, 2016—CHELMSFORD, MASS.—ZOLL® Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group Company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, announced that results from the largest German registry of patients prescribed the LifeVest® Wearable Defibrillator reaffirm that the LifeVest is a safe and effective therapy for the prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the German healthcare system. Results will be published in the upcoming 30 August edition of Circulation.

The study, entitled “Experience with the Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator in Patients at High Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death,” evaluated more than 6,000 patients from 404 clinical centers across all 16 German states, representing the largest LifeVest patient registry in Europe. Investigators demonstrated that risk for SCD was high in the early period following an acute cardiac event. Seventy percent (70%) of treated patients received therapy in the first 40 days and 89% in the first 90 days of LifeVest use.1 Treated patients demonstrated a 93% event survival.1 In addition, overall survival among all patients prescribed the LifeVest was 99.9% at the end of LifeVest use.1

“This study clearly demonstrates that the wearable defibrillator is reliable and can save lives in patients at high risk for sudden death,” commented study author Prof. Dr. Ruth Strasser, University of Dresden, Germany. “It also reinforces the clinical advantage across a variety of indicators and strongly suggests that guideline recommendations should be expanded.”

“This extensive research from the University of Dresden adds to the large body of evidence consistently supporting the LifeVest as a therapy to protect patients from sudden cardiac death,” said Jason T. Whiting, President of ZOLL LifeVest. “The powerful result of partnering with physicians to protect patients from sudden cardiac death is that about three patients’ lives are being saved every day worldwide by a ZOLL LifeVest.”

The wearable defibrillator is included in the 2015 European Society of Cardiology Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Ventricular Arrhythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death and has received formal recommendations in the 2016 American Heart Association Science Advisory for the Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator, with endorsement from the Heart Rhythm Society.

On any given day, tens of thousands of people around the world are protected from sudden cardiac death by the LifeVest. The LifeVest is used for a wide range of patient conditions or situations, including following a myocardial infarction, before or after coronary revascularization, and for those with cardiomyopathy or congestive heart failure that places them at particular risk. The LifeVest gives physicians time to optimize medical therapy and assess a patient’s long-term risk for sudden death.

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.

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, 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 material, homes, 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 and diagnostic reagents. 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/.

1Waessnig N, et al. Experience with the Wearable Cardioverter-Defibrillator in Patients at High Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death. Circulation. 2016 Jul 25. [Epub ahead of print]

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