FDA clears miniaturized resynchronization ICD

A European manufacturer has announced that the FDA approved the world’s smallest cardiac resynchronization implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

The total size of the ICD (Ovatio CRT 6750, Sorin Group) is about 11 mm. In addition to its tiny size, the device also has the ability to distinguish between and tailor electronic therapy to either bradycardia or tachycardia. Using a technological feature called brady-tachy overlap, the device is able to deliver the appropriate level of electric current to the heart, depending on what type of arrhythmia is occurring.

“I like the fact that with the smallest cardiac resynchronization device in the world, I can resynchronize my patients during maximal exercise as well as detect and treat slower ventricular tachycardias without programming restraints,” Michael R. Gold, MD, professor of medicine and chief of adult cardiology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said in a press release.

The Ovatio CRT can also detect arrhythmias using what the manufacturer calls P And R Arrhythmia Detection (PARAD) technology. According to a press release, the PARAD technology was observed in some studies to reduce the absolute risk for having an inappropriate shock to 5%. – by Eric Raible

The recently FDA-approved Ovatio CRT ICD offers small size, advanced supraventricular tachycardia discrimination and anti-tachycardia pacing for ventricular tachycardias ranging from 100 bpm to 255 bpm. As such, it adds to the selection of devices from which electrophysiologists can choose in treating high-risk patients with HF.

– Douglas P. Zipes, MD

Cardiology Today Section Editor