ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), a global medical device company, today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the first-to-market MultiPoint™ Pacing technology featured on the Quadra Assura MP™ cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D), the Quadra Allure MP™ CRT-pacemaker (CRT-P) and two new quadripolar Quartet™ LV leads. MultiPoint Pacing technology enables a revolutionary approach and provides additional options, which may benefit CRT patients who are not responsive to other pacing alternatives. This approval is an important first step in the rollout of MultiPoint Pacing technology, and availability to U.S. physicians is expected in the first half of this year.
Approximately 23 million people worldwide are afflicted with congestive heart failure and 2 million new cases are diagnosed worldwide each year. Studies have shown that CRT can improve the quality of life for many patients with heart failure, a progressive condition in which the heart weakens and loses its ability to pump an adequate supply of blood. CRT resynchronizes the lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart by sending uniquely programmed electrical impulses to stimulate each ventricle to beat in sync for optimal cardiac performance.
Despite the improvements seen with quadripolar CRT technology, non-responders to therapy remain a significant issue. Also, non-responders to CRT are not able to be identified at the time of implant and individual patient response can be unpredictable.
Previous studies have shown that activating more ventricular tissue faster may enhance heart muscle performance. MultiPoint Pacing technology allows physicians the opportunity to capture more left ventricular tissue quickly by delivering pacing pulses to multiple left ventricle locations rather than the traditional single pulse for each heartbeat. Using the Quartet™ LV lead with its four uniquely spaced electrodes, physicians now have the capability to program two pulses from a single lead and tailor them to the specific needs of each patient.
“Having the ability to truly individualize cardiac resynchronization therapy is a significant step forward in the clinical approach to treating some of our most complex heart failure patients,” said Dr. Gery Tomassoni, director of electrophysiology at Baptist Health Lexington in Lexington, Kentucky. “MultiPoint Pacing technology provides a new set of tools that can be non-invasively programmed in an attempt to improve CRT response, thus opening up an important new treatment option for many patients who may need it.”
