EP Lab Digest - January 2008 - (Page 1) HMP Communications Sorin Group Cardiac Rhythm Management Announces the First U.S. Enrollment in the OPTION Study TELA Medical, Inc., a Sorin Group company, announced the first U.S. enrollment in the OPTION (Optimal Antitachycardia Therapy in ICD Patients without Pacing Indications) study by Dan Dan, MD, electrophysiologist and codirector of Cardiovascular Research of the Fuqua Heart Center at Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia. www.eplabdigest.com A PRODUCT, NEWS AND CLINICAL UPDATE FOR THE ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY PROFESSIONAL JANUARY 2008 An AED for Every School: New National Legislation Being Introduced Interview by Jodie Elrod page 41 Simple Two-in-One Test Signals High Risk After a Heart Attack Everyone loves a two-fer, but a two-in-one heart test that has the potential to save lives is the real deal. According to new research, pairing two findings from one simple test makes it significantly more likely that doctors will identify patients who face the greatest risk after a heart attack. L egislation is being introduced to Congress that would propose an AED for every school in the United States, replicating a similar program already in place in the state of Ohio. Dr. Terry Gordon, who created the Ohio AED program, discusses the nationwide proposal. How did the idea of putting automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in all Ohio schools come about? How did you get started? About eight years ago, Josh Miller, a 15-yearold high school football player from Barbarton, Ohio, ran off the football field on a Friday night and collapsed.He died of a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). I had the unfortunate experience of watching the videotape of his death, and it was the most sickening thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It was like going to a movie that you had seen a 100 times before and knew exactly how it was going to end, but you were hoping and praying it would end differently. In that normally boisterous stadium you could hear a pin drop, except for the wail of his mother — it was a sound that reverberated in my soul. At the time, I was then President of the local chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA). I served on a panel with Josh’s father several months later, and as we talked about page 42 Medtronic Implantable Cardiac Monitors Give Physicians Valuable Insights into Heart Rhythms Medtronic, Inc. announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of the Reveal® DX and Reveal® XT, new insertable cardiac monitors (ICMs) that offer diagnostic and monitoring insights to cardiologists managing their patients with syncope or abnormal heart rhythms, including ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VT), fast ventricular tachyarrhythmias (FVT), bradyarrhythmias and asystole. how we could prevent this from happening again in our community, a TV reporter approached us and said “Mr. Miller, these AED devices cost over $3,000 — don’t you think that’s a lot of money?” Mr. Miller, who is a man of few words, looked at me as he responded “you know, it doesn’t seem like a lot of money to me.” It was like a bolt of lightening had gone through me. I thought, you know, he’s right — it’s not a lot of money. So I went on a mission to raise money to put an AED in every junior high and high school in Summit County. We ultimately succeeded in that endeavor, and the AHA named me their “National Physician of the Year” as a result of that. I say that not as an accolade to myself, but as a testament to the mission. continued on page 6 Electrophysiology Year in Review: 2007 The Three “R’s” of Electrophysiology See our Spotlight Interview on the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf page 43 Todd J. Cohen, MD Editor-in-Chief, EP Lab Digest Director, Electrophysiology Cardiology Division,Winthrop-University Hospital Mineola, New York T raditionally, the three R’s of education have been “Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rrithmetic.” But for the field of electrophysiology in the year 2007, the three R’s should be renamed “Robotics, Recalls, and Reimbursement.” continued on page 10 http://www.eplabdigest.com
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