PreSCD II Registry Shows ICDs Lead to 44 Percent Reduction in Mortality for Heart Attack Survivors

NATICK, Mass. and BARCELONA, Sept. 1  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) today announced long-term data from the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death II registry (PreSCD II).  The results found that implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) were associated with a 44 percent reduction in all cause mortality (p=0.053) when implanted in patients following myocardial infarction (heart attack).  The mortality reduction trend was also observed in high-risk patients with severely reduced heart function.  Analysis of the data was presented by Professor Heinz Voller, M.D., Klinikum am See, Ruedersdorf, Germany at the annual European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Barcelona.

Heart attack survivors have an increased risk for sudden cardiac death, and patients with impaired left ventricular function in particular benefit from protection by an ICD.  Major clinical trials such as MADIT II suggest that ejection fraction -- a measure of the heart's pumping capacity -- should be used to characterize risk and determine which patients should receive an ICD.  Data from PreSCD II revealed that within the highest risk subgroup (ejection fraction