The Medical Center, Navicent Health Now Offers Latest MRI-Conditional Caridac Resynchronization Therapy Defibrillators to Improve Care for Heart Failure Patients

New CRT-Ds Allow Patients with Heart Failure to Safely Undergo Full Body MRI Scans

MACON, GA (Wednesday, May 4, 2016) - The Medical Center, Navicent Health (MCNH) is now offering patients the first and only cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) approved by the FDA for use with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Designed to help the heart pump more effectively in a coordinated rhythm, CRT-Ds are used to treat heart failure and help reduce the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

Until now, however, patients with CRT-Ds have not been able to receive MRI scans because of the potential for a harmful interaction between the MRI and the device. With as many as 40 percent of CRT patients needing an MRI within four years of receiving a device,1 thousands of patients implanted with CRT-Ds have not had access to MRI scans when they needed them.

“Our heart team is excited to be leading the way in improving care for heart failure patients. Cardiac resynchronization therapy is an important therapy option that has been shown to reduce mortality and improve quality of life. Patients being treated for heart failure with these new MR-conditional CRT-D devices will no longer be denied access to MRI scans, which can be critical for doctors to detect and treat other underlying, potentially life-threatening conditions,” said Dr. Daniel Haithcock, who implanted the first device at MCNH on April 20, 2016.

Chronic heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to sustain adequate circulation in the body's tissues. CRT is a cost-effective and beneficial therapy for indicated patients that helps the heart effectively pump blood and oxygen to the body, reducing the risk of death and offering improvements in quality of life for heart failure patients.

Allowing for MRI scans on any part of the body without positioning restrictions, the MRI-conditional CRT-Ds from Medtronic, including the Amplia MRI"„¢ Quad CRT-D SureScan® and Compia MRI"„¢ Quad CRT-D SureScan® systems are designed to optimize therapy delivery. Amplia MRI features the AdaptivCRT® algorithm, which has been shown to reduce a patient's odds of a heart failure readmission within 30 days by 59 percent,4 and reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation by 46 percent.5

“Patients with chronic heart failure are often older adults with other serious medical conditions that require an MRI for diagnosis. At The Medical Center, Navicent Health, we are committed to offering patients cutting-edge technologies in order to improve and expand their treatment options,” said Dr. Christopher Hendry, Chief Medical Officer for MCNH.

MCNH, the region's primary healthcare facility for those affected by heart failure, now offers a complete portfolio of implantable cardiac devices including CRT-Ds and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) from Medtronic - all FDA approved for use with MRI scans - to provide care for patients with heart failure, life-threatening arrhythmias or those at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

1 Medtronic data on file 2015: Data from MarketScan® 2012 Commercial and Medicare Database. Truven Health Analytics.
2 http://newsroom.heart.org/news/six-steps-could-cut-heart-failure-readmissions
3 Biffi et al. Effort of Bipolar Electrode Spacing on Phrenic Nerve Stimulation and Left Ventricular Pacing Thresholds: An Acute Canine Study. Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology. 2012.
4 Starling RC, Krum H, Bril S, Tsintzos SI, Rogers T, Hudnall JH, Martin DO. Impact of a Novel Adaptive Optimization Algorithm on 30-Day Readmissions: Evidence from the Adaptive CRT Trial, JACC: Heart Failure (2015), doi: 10.1016/j.chf.2015.03.001.
5 Martin D, et al. Clinical Outcomes with Adaptive Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: Long-term Outcomes of the Adaptive CRT Trial. HFSA Late Breakers. September 23, 2013.