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Beebe Healthcare becomes First on Delmarva and One of Only Two in the Mid Atlantic to offer MultiPoint Pacing Technology for Heart Failure Patients

 

Beebe Healthcare is proud to announce that it is the first medical center on Delmarva, and one of only two in the Mid Atlantic, to use a new, recently FDA-approved technology that vastly improves the treatment for patients with congestive heart failure and other electrical problems of the heart.

The technology, “MultiPoint Pacing,” is a new feature on the Quadra Assura MP™ cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D).

MultiPoint pacing technology delivers electrical pulses to multiple locations within the left side of the heart to resynchronize contraction of the heart’s lower chambers (ventricles). Resynchronization is necessary when a patient is suffering from a type of irregular heartbeat that causes difficulty in breathing and that can be life-threatening. “MultiPoint Pacing” allows coverage of a larger area of the heart and in clinical trials has been proven to help patients when traditional biventricular implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) and pacemakers have been ineffective.

Today, about 35 percent of patients with heart failure do not respond to traditional biventricular pacemakers and ICDs. This new technology means that we have another option to help more patients live longer and enjoy a better quality of life.

This technology gives us another advanced technology to regulate the heartbeat. It is exciting to be able to provide this new technology to help patients feel better and enjoy their lives.

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), the global medical device company that developed MultiPoint Pacing, has described it as a revolutionary approach that may benefit cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) patients who are not responsive to other pacing alternatives. St. Jude is in the process of rolling out the new technology and Beebe Healthcare is one of the first medical centers in the nation to have the opportunity to provide the improved level of care for its patients.

According to the American Heart Association, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can improve the heart’s efficiency at pumping blood to the body and can lessen symptoms of heart failure, including shortness of breath. However, even with effective placement of the leads around the heart, therapy can be unpredictable and ineffective for some patients. The goal of MultiPoint Pacing technology is to allow physicians to program the device to capture more left-ventricular tissue at one time by pacing at multiple locations in the heart, increasing the number of patients who benefit from this type of therapy.

An estimated 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. Previous studies have shown that activating more ventricular tissue faster may enhance heart muscle performance.

For more information about the MultiPoint Pacing technology, please visit the St. Jude Medical website sjm.com.