“Shocking” New Innovation from Biotronik

Orange County, CA - November 11th 2016 - Biomedical company Biotronik recently announced the launch of Inventra HF-T, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) that can deliver a more powerful jolt at a faster rate. ICDs are for patients with tachycardia, or fast arrhythmias, which require a controlled burst of impulses or shocks to the heart to convert dangerous arrhythmias back to a normal rhythm. The quicker a shock is delivered, the greater the likelihood of patient survival. Most current ICDs on the market produce around 36 joules of energy, the industry standard, but patients with larger hearts and those with a reduced ejection fraction, where the heart muscle does not contract effectively and less oxygen-rich blood is sent out to the body, often need a more substantial shock to regain a stable arrhythmia. The Inventra ICD is able to deliver 42 joules efficaciously to the heart on the first shock, the only of its kind available in the United States. “For an increasing number of patients – specifically those with larger cardiac anatomy and lower ejection fraction – a shock higher than 36-37 J may be needed to convert irregular arrhythmia,” said Dr. Mark Mascarenhas, electrophysiologist at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey, in a press release from Biotronik. “For such patients, a CRT-D is able to heighten the chance of reversing the irregular arrhythmia. With the Inventra HF-T’s availability, patients with heart failure will be able to receive this life-saving therapy.”