AdaptivCRT algorithm lowered AF-related adverse events, costs

Patients who received a cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator with the AdaptivCRT algorithm had a lower risk for atrial fibrillation-related adverse events compared with patients who received conventional biventricular pacing therapy, according to data presented at Cardiostim 2014.

The AdaptivCRT algorithm (Medtronic) was also associated with AF-related provider cost savings in the United States and Germany, Bernd Lemke, MD, reported.

In the Adaptive CRT trial, researchers studied 476 patients with HF who had a CRT-D with or without the AdaptivCRT algorithm. Those assigned the algorithm had a 61% lower risk for AF-related adverse events compared with those not assigned the algorithm (P=.01), according to a Medtronic press release.

Lemke and colleagues also found a 55% relative reduction in health care utilizations associated with use of the AdaptivCRT algorithm, according to the release. Health care utilizations were defined as hospitalizations, ED visits or clinic visits.

In addition, the algorithm was associated with AF-related provider cost savings over 24 months of $630 per patient in the United States and 130 euros per patient in Germany. In the United States, 92% of the savings came from a reduction in hospitalizations; in Germany, that figure was 93%, according to the release

“The study results are clear in showing that CRT devices with adaptive algorithms reduce the risk of [AF]-related adverse events and related costs,” Lemke, of Lüdenscheid Hospital, Germany, stated in the release. “On an individual level, the algorithm’s personalized therapy keeps more patients out of the hospital. On a system level, this results in savings and less use of health care resources.”

The AdaptivCRT algorithm, available on Medtronic’s Viva CRT-D and CRT-P devices, works by making automatic adjustments to preserve normal heart rhythms, according to the release. Previous data showed that AdaptivCRT was associated with a 46% lower risk for spending 48 consecutive hours in AF, a 21% reduction in HF hospitalization, a relative reduction of 46.5% in 30-day readmissions for HF and a relative reduction of 40.3% in 30-readmissions for any cause.

For more information:

Lemke B. Major Issues in CRT: Abstract 58PW/4. Presented at: Cardiostim 2014; June 18-21, 2014; Nice, France.

Disclosure: The study was funded by Medtronic. Lemke reports receiving speaker honoraria from Bayer, Biostronik, Boehringer Ingelheim, Boston Scientific, Daiichi Sankyo, Impulse Dynamics, Medtronic and St. Jude. He also reports serving on advisory boards for Boston Scientific, Medtronic and St. Jude, and participating in clinical studies for Biotronic, Boston Scientific, Impulse Dynamics, Medtronic and St. Jude.