EP Lab Digest - September 2007 - (Page 1)

HMP Communications CryoCor Receives FDA Approval for Right Atrial Flutter CryoCor, Inc., a medical device company focused on the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted pre-market approval (PMA) for its Cardiac Cryoablation System for the treatment of right atrial flutter. www.eplabdigest.com A PRODUCT, NEWS AND CLINICAL UPDATE FOR THE ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY PROFESSIONAL SEPTEMBER 2007 page 24 eCardio Diagnostics Announces Major Corporate Expansion eCardio Diagnostics announced a major expansion of their facilities and staffing, with the addition of a new state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratory to support the company’s continuing growth. The new center is located in Houston,Texas and complements their current corporate facilities, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. The ICD Shock and Stress Management Program: Interview with Samuel F. Sears Jr., PhD Interview by Jodie Elrod r. Sears and colleagues recently studied the effectiveness of an ICD Shock and Stress Management Program in ICD patients.Their results were published in the July 2007 issue of PACE. Dr. Sears is a Professor at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. D page 24 CardioFocus Endoscopic Ablation System Earns CE Mark to Treat Atrial Fibrillation; US Clinical Investigation Underway CardioFocus, Inc. announced that it has been awarded CE Mark approval for its proprietary Endoscopic Ablation System. This transvenous device combines real-time, full color, endoscopic visualization and guidance with the delivery of therapeutic light energy to perform pulmonary vein isolation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. You are considered a nationally recognized expert on the topic of psychological care and quality of life outcomes of ICD patients; your research in this area is quite extensive. When in your career did you first begin to study the effects of ICDs in patients? What interests you about this area of research? For example, was there a particular case that affected you? Approximately 12 years ago, I was a new assistant professor in clinical health psychology at the University of Florida Health Science Center and served on the cardiac transplantation team. My responsibilities included performing psychosocial evaluations of candidates to examine their relative strengths and weaknesses related to undergoing transplantation. In the course of these evaluations, I inquired about anxiety and depressive symptoms and current quality of life. At that time, a sizeable minority of patients began presenting with ICDs that tended to be “active” in terms of shock exposure. In fact, exposure to multiple shocks often triggered an acute need for consideration of all treatment options, including transplantation. The patients and the families were terrified of the shock experience. Their anxieties seemed somewhat reasonable for the situation but still problematic. continued on page 6 See our Spotlight Interview on The Morristown Memorial Hospital Universal ECG Screening: The Advocate’s Perspective Mary Jo Gordon, Executive Director, Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education (C.A.R.E.) Foundation, Inc. For patients and families at risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD) due to heart rhythm disorders, an abnormal 12-lead electrocardiogram often yields the first critical clues of serious underlying disease.While it is true that some life-threatening cardiac conditions may not be readily identified by ECG alone, the majority of undiagnosed cases can be found with this simple, relatively inexpensive test. Studies have shown that the ECG will identify abnormalities in up to 95% of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), 90% with long QT syndrome (LQTS), and 80% with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD).1,2 Most cases of Wolff-Parkinson White (WPW) and Brugada syndrome are also discovered on ECG. Though the prevalence of these potentially lethal cardiac abnormalities is low, the benefits of early diagnosis and preventative treatment are enormous. Given the high sensitivity of the ECG to presage the risk for sudden death, it seems intuitive that every child be tested at some point in their young life. continued on page 8 page 24 http://www.eplabdigest.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EP Lab Digest - September 2007

The ICD Shock and Stress Management Program: Interview with Samuel F. Sears Jr., PhD Universal ECG Screening: The Advocate’s Perspective Contents Letter from the Editor Spotlight Interview: Morristown Memorial Hospital 10-Minute Interview: About the Mended Hearts and Mended Little Hearts Organizations ICD Patient Support Groups Email Discussion Group: September 2007 Technology: Only As Good As the Attitude Behind It! Electrophysiologic Management and Treatment of Chronic and Acute Cardiac Device Infection First Annual EP Lab Digest Salary Survey Events Calendar Industry News and Products

EP Lab Digest - September 2007

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