July 7, 2015 - Institute of Medicine Report Recommends High Priority Actions to Improve Treatment of Cardiac Arrest

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Diane Egan
ZOLL Medical Corporation
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INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE REPORT RECOMMENDS HIGH PRIORITY ACTIONS TO IMPROVE TREATMENT OF CARDIAC ARREST

ZOLL Fully Committed to Recommended Actions

July 7, 2015—CHELMSFORD, MASS.—ZOLL® Medical Corporation, a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, announced today its support for a landmark report released from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concerning future opportunities to improve outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in the United States that will mark an important new public health focus on improving resuscitation outcomes. Improving outcomes from SCA has been the focus of ZOLL for over 30 years.

The Institute of Medicine, a prestigious arm of the National Academy of Sciences, has issued strong and specific recommendations to the resuscitation community, both pre-hospital and hospital providers as well as individual communities and the public, to leverage existing and developing capabilities to strengthen survival. SCA is a leading cause of death in the United States, striking an estimated 600,000 individuals in the U.S. each year.

The report also notes significant disparities in survival across communities, ranging from single digits on average to as high as 60% for some classes of cardiac arrest in other communities that focused on improving survival. The highly anticipated report calls upon the public, policy makers, and the health care and EMS communities to recognize the opportunities for improvement; educate and engage the public; centralize the collection and distribution of data; increase the impact of research and therapies; and strengthen stakeholder collaboration.

“As a leader in resuscitation technology for over 30 years, ZOLL has been working hard to help clinicians and service providers by developing technologies that address many of the important areas for improvement identified in the IOM report such as improving CPR and enabling quality improvement programs. ZOLL has been focused on helping to increase survival from sudden cardiac arrest, which has stayed dismally low for three decades in most communities,” said Richard A. Packer, CEO of ZOLL. “This report is expected to be a turning point and give sudden cardiac arrest the attention it deserves by fostering a culture of action to optimize survival.”

ZOLL’s technology is strongly aligned with an emphasis on high-quality CPR and minimizing interruptions during chest compressions. Improving CPR quality has been an ongoing commitment of ZOLL’s since 2002, when it was the first to introduce real-time CPR feedback in a defibrillator. Today, all ZOLL defibrillators, from AEDs to professional manual defibrillators, feature Real CPR Help®, the only CPR-feedback technology that, in combination with training, has been shown to impact survival to discharge, as demonstrated in published research.1

The most recent addition to ZOLL’s resuscitation portfolio, the ResQCPR™ System, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March, is the first and only device indicated to improve the likelihood of survival in adults who have suffered sudden cardiac arrest.2

Already committed to furthering the resuscitation research called for in the report, ZOLL established the ZOLL Foundation in 2013 as an independent entity organized for scientific and educational purposes. The ZOLL Foundation provides grants targeted to new research, new researchers, and new ideas in education and public awareness related to improving resuscitation outcomes. The ZOLL Foundation is supported by contributions from ZOLL, its executives and employees, its parent company Asahi Kasei, and other independent donors.

Another IOM recommendation is centralizing data collection. In this category, ZOLL supports the Emory University-based CARES Registry (Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival) as playing an important role in tracking improvements in survival, bystander interventions, and CPR quality over time. Given that CARES currently covers 25% of the national population, it is well-positioned to serve as the national registry called for in the IOM report.

About the Institute of Medicine

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is an independent, nonprofit organization that works outside of government to provide unbiased and authoritative advice to decision makers and the public. Established in 1970, the IOM is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, which was chartered under President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Nearly 150 years later, the National Academy of Sciences has expanded into what is collectively known as the National Academies, which comprises the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Research Council, and the IOM.

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/.

1Bobrow BJ, et al. The Influence of Scenario-based Training and Real-time Audiovisual Feedback on Pre-hospital Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Quality and Survival from Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest. Ann Emerge Med. 2013 Jul;62(1):47–56.e1. Epub 2013 Mar 7.
2ResQCPR System Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data approved by Food & Drug Administration 2015.

Copyright © 2015 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. Real CPR Help, ResQCPR, 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 trademarks are the property of their respective owners.