Cath Lab Recap: Extravascular ICDs; Hidden Theft Detectors

The American Heart Association and the Chinese Society of Cardiology formalized a 3-year pact to improve systems of care for heart attack patients in China. A large registry study recently suggested booming demand for percutaneous coronary intervention there -- albeit with no improvement in death rates and inadequate documentation.

With new data on the EV-ICD System, it seems feasible to have implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) leads placed in the extravascular space under the ribs, away from the heart and veins. "Physicians are interested in an ICD with a similar device footprint and performance profile of conventional ICDs -- but without the need for vascular access -- and these study results are encouraging," said Francis Murgatroyd, MD, of King's College Hospital in London, in a press release.

No small feat for a tiny pacemaker: Medtronic's Micra Transcatheter Pacing System had a 3.7% complication rate over 7.7 months of follow-up, half that of conventional pacing systems (hazard ratio 0.48, 95% CI 0.32-0.72), according to its premarket trial.

A bioresorbable vascular scaffold for peripheral artery disease showed fairly low rates of binary restenosis and target lesion revascularization up to 2 years, according to the small ESPRIT I trial.

The Gore Excluder abdominal aortic aneurysm device got the CE Mark from Europe. It is geared towards patients with difficult anatomies and either proximal aortic neck angles up to 90 degrees or a minimum 10 mm aortic neck length.

Members of the Indian government are proposing a reduction in stent prices to provide care to more people with heart disease. Industry balked at the idea, arguing that the prices of these devices are crucial to innovation.

Shop 'til you drop? Anti-theft systems hidden inside retail stores -- say, within walls and floors -- can spell trouble for patients implanted with cardiac devices. Dropped beats and inappropriate shocks were reported when pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators were placed around these common detectors. "We tell patients 'don't linger, don't lean' but that advice is hard to follow when systems are invisible," said Rod Gimbel, MD, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, in a press release.

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