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

Lucy McDonald: (202) 306-3456
Heart Rhythm 2008 Press Room: (415) 978-3520 (number effective May 14-17, 2008)

SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, 2008 — Wireless communication helps heart attack victims receive potentially life-saving treatment significantly faster than standard practices. Results of a new study released today at Heart Rhythm 2008, the Heart Rhythm Society’s 29th Annual Scientific Sessions, show that paramedics equipped with pre-hospital ECG devices that wirelessly transmit critical information to emergency rooms while in route to the hospital, can reduce the time it takes to diagnose and treat patients by more than 30 percent. The study is the first to prospectively evaluate hospital time to treatment and outcomes in individuals randomized to receive a pre-hospital ECG versus the usual method of obtaining an ECG after hospital arrival.

An ECG is the primary tool used to diagnose and understand the severity of a myocardial infarction, or heart attack. The earlier a physician receives an ECG reading, the faster a patient can receive proper care or treatment. Beginning in 2003, all paramedic vehicles in Santa Cruz County, California, were equipped with special ECG devices, marking the launch of the Synthesized Twelve-lead ST Monitoring & Real-time Tele-electrocardiography (ST SMART) Study. These modified machines wirelessly transmit an ECG reading to the hospital through mobile phone technology, while continuously monitoring the patient’s status and re-transmitting information to the hospital if changes are detected.

The ST SMART study measured two critical windows of time that directly link to survival and long-term well-being of a heart attack patient. Results showed that pre-hospital ECG transmissions shortened both the time to diagnosis, the time it took to receive the first ECG after the patient dialed 9-1-1, and door to balloon time, the time it took to receive treatment once a patient arrived at the hospital.

“The earlier you can treat heart attack patients, the lower the risk of permanent heart muscle damage, which is why reducing door to balloon time is so important,” stated the study’s lead author Barbara Drew, Ph.D., from the University of California, San Francisco. “By utilizing mobile phone/ECG technology, physicians are able to diagnose patients faster and mobilize resources in anticipation of a patient’s arrival, rather than reacting once the patient is already in the door.”

Patients randomized to the experimental group with pre-hospital ECG cell phone transmission had an initial ECG reading 59 minutes earlier than patients randomized to the control group with their first ECG reading at the hospital. This advanced ECG information from the field allowed physicians to diagnose and understand the severity of the heart attack much earlier, and prepare for treatment before the patient arrived. In addition, patients who received a pre-hospital ECG had an average door to balloon time of 79 minutes, 37 minutes faster than those who did not receive a pre-hospital ECG. To date, more than 730 patients have been enrolled in the ST SMART Study.

About Heart Rhythm2008
Heart Rhythm 2008 takes place May 14-17 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. The meeting is the most comprehensive educational event on heart rhythm disorders, offering 250 educational opportunities in multiple formats. The world’s most renowned scientists and physicians will present a wide range of heart rhythm topics including advances in statins, cardiac resynchronization therapy, catheter ablation, cardiac pacing and heart failure and the latest technology, including state-of-the-art pacemakers and defibrillators.