Minnesota-based medical device major Medtronic, Inc.'s (MDT) latest cardiac resynchronization therapy-pacemaker (CRT-P) – Viva CRT-P – has duly received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. This device is used for the treatment of patients who suffer from heart failure or atrioventricular (AV) block.
Heart failure patients, who have developed arrhythmia-irregular heart rhythms, are treated with cardiac resynchronization therapy or biventricular pacing. In such patients, CRT-P improves the efficiency of heart and increases blood flow.
Patients with mildly symptomatic, moderate or severe heart failure have been successfully treated with Medtronic's CRT devices for a long time. In recent times, they have also been used in patients with AV block and reduced ejection fraction – a measure of pumping function.
The Viva CRT-P incorporates Medtronic's exclusive AdaptiveCRT software. AdaptiveCRT is a unique algorithm that has helped considerably improve CRT patients' response to the therapy. It also has the capability to minimize atrial fibrillation (AF) in heart-failure patients, compared to standard biventricular therapy.
Drawing benefits from the AdaptivCRT algorithm, Viva CRT-P can provide personalized therapy to each individual patient by maintaining normal heart rhythms and mechanically adapting to the patient's requirement on a minute-by-minute basis. Per recently released statistics, the AdaptivCRT software has minimized 30-day hospital readmissions for heart failure by 47% and has also brought down AF-related healthcare utilizations (hospitalizations, emergency department or clinic visits) by 55%.
It is believed that patients implanted with Viva CRT-P will likely benefit through improved response rates to cardiac resynchronization therapy. This will allow them to make a healthy return to their normal lives and avoid further instances of hospitalization.
Advanced diagnostics tools, such as OptiVol Fluid Status Monitoring and Cardiac Compass Report also comprise a part of Viva CRT-P. These instruments offer insight into patients' physiological conditions. These tools can determine patients who are at the risk of rehospitalization within 30 days of discharge – a factor deemed as a critical quality measure.
At present, Medtronic is focused at improving cardiac resynchronization therapy through research and upgraded therapies. Management believes the launch of Viva CRT-P marks yet another milestone within Medtronic's line of pioneer CRT-devices.
Currently, Medtronic carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the medical products industry include ICU Medical, Inc. (ICUI), Abaxis, Inc. (ABAX) and Chimerix, Inc. (CMRX). While ICU Medical sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Abaxis and Chimerix hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each.
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