Late-Breaking Clinical Trial Results Announced at Heart Rhythm 2009: ALTITUDE Study
Largest study of its kind reveals highest-ever reported survival rates in ICD and CRT-D patients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ann-Marie White
Heart Rhythm Society
(202) 464-3476
awhite@hrsonline.org

Lucy McDonald: (202) 306-3456
Heart Rhythm 2009 Press Room: (617) 954-3399 (number effective May 13-16, 2009)

BOSTON, May 14, 2009 — A new study reports survival rates exceeding all prior data from other pivotal clinical trials for patients with either an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or a cardiac resynchronization therapy device (CRT-D). The results are part of the ALTITUDE study, a late-breaking clinical trial presented today at Heart Rhythm 2009, the Heart Rhythm Society’s 30th annual Scientific Sessions. Results of the ALTITUDE study, the largest study of its kind, support the use of ICDs and CRT-Ds in patients at risk of heart failure.
     » Download Survival After ICD and CRT-D Implant in A Large Cohort of Heart Failure Patients Treated with Contemporary Drug and Device Therapies — Results of the ALTITUDE Study (PDF, 30K)

ALTITUDE is an observational, prospective study reporting mortality outcomes in ICD and CRT-D recipients, utilizing data from 100,000 patients of a remote monitoring system. The ALTITUDE study also measured the incidence of appropriate and inappropriate shock therapies in the same, large cohort of ICD and CRT-D patients. Mortality outcomes and incidence of appropriate and inappropriate shock were measured through device information transmitted over the internet as well as through patient information including, symptoms, weight, and blood pressure data.

“We recognized the critical need for more current data on the effectiveness of device therapies,” said lead author Leslie A. Saxon, MD, FHRS, CCDS, at USC Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, California. “Results reflect contemporary practice in terms of device technology, patient selection and the ability to monitor device function and symptom status over a network.”

In the largest patient cohort reported to date and after a five-year period, ALTITUDE results showed ICD survival rates of 91.8% among 47,032 patients and CRT-D survival rates of 75.6% among 38,967 patients. In addition, shock is associated with decreased survival for both ICD and CRT-D patients with the five-year incidence of shock reported at 35.5% for ICD patients and 34.5% for CRT-D patients.

Session details:
“Late-Breaking Clinical Trials I” [May 14, 2009, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Ballroom West]

About Heart Rhythm 2009
Heart Rhythm 2009 takes place May 13-16 at the Boston Exhibition and Convention Center. The meeting is the most comprehensive educational event on heart rhythm disorders, offering approximately 250 educational opportunities in multiple formats. The world’s most renowned scientists and physicians will present a wide range of heart rhythm topics including cardiac resynchronization therapy, catheter ablation, cardiac pacing and heart failure as well as the latest technology, including state-of-the-art pacemakers and defibrillators.