Pacemaker & Afib

MINERVA trial shows Medtronic pacemakers reduce the progression of permanent AF by 61 percent:
http://newsroom.medtronic.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251324&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1877867&highlight=
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/18/us-heart-medtronic-pacemaker-idUSBRE9AH0SL20131118

Thought this would be of interest for all Afib patients that face a pacer implant or replacement.

Best

Inga

8 Comments

Ian

by golden_snitch - 2013-11-21 01:11:48

In the Medtronic article it says:

"The MVP and Reactive ATP algorithms evaluated in the MINERVA study are exclusively available on the Medtronic Advisa and Revo MRI(TM) SureScan(TM) pacing systems."

Donb, you have a Medtronic Adapta which, as I happen to know, does feature MVP, but apparently does not feature the other algorithms (reactive ATP and atrial intervention pacing). But maybe when you have your Adapta replaced one day, you can get one of those models from the study :)

Best wishes
Inga

Sounds good to me

by IAN MC - 2013-11-21 05:11:47

I have quickly read one of the articles and I see the statement :-

A new generation of Medtronic Inc's EnRhythm pacemaker programmed to kick in only when heart rhythm disturbances are detected led to fewer deaths, hospitalizations and incidences of developing permanent heart problems than traditional versions of the device, according to data from a study.

It seems that these enhanced features are unique to Medtronic

I could nor work out, Inga, whether these PMs with enhanced features are already on the market or not. If they are, I don't suppose you know which models they are ???

Cheers

Ian

Medtronic EnRhythm Pacing System

by Roys - 2013-11-21 05:11:58

Hi
I have a Medtronic A5DRO1 with Three Programmable Specialize Pacing Algorithms
Atrial Preference Pacing
Atrial Rate Stabilization
Post-Mode Switch Overdrive Pacing (PMOP ) - Pacing designed to manage early recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia.

I was told by my EP that this PM had a 30% chance of stopping my AF. I don't know how this compares to the above. But 61% sounds better than 30%!

Cheers Roy

Good News!!

by donb - 2013-11-21 06:11:02

Thank You Inga & Lan !! I just dug out my info on my #6 pacemaker as I had my 1st interogation by our Medtronic rep. This is most interesting as he was quite excited about changing my atrial settings to stabilize my intermittant Afib. As I'm following my mother's gene's, she was having Afib for her last 30 years intermittantly. She passed away at age 101 & only treated it with aspirin.
My new pacemaker is Medtonic ADDRS1 which doesn't sound like a new version. I've been on Sotalol (Betapace) for years & helps. Now I've got to dig into the site Inga posted !! DonB

Thanks for letting me know

by Theknotguy - 2013-11-21 06:11:33

Thanks for letting me know. I went to the website, pulled the report and showed to my cardiologist today. He said he'd heard of the report, was waiting for final FDA approval.

Since I got my PM on 8-Nov it has the software embedded, or if it doesn't, it can be loaded onto my PM. Since I have a lot of a-fib it's really good news for me.

So chalk this one up as a WIN for you.

Theknotguy

Thanks for the info

by Elleninminn - 2013-11-21 10:11:24

I went to the Medtronic site and read the press release. I have the Revo SureScan, one of the two PM models that have the improved features for treating afib. I called patient services at Medtronic, and a tech gave me more info on checking settings to optimize what the device can do to control afib. So happy I lucked out in getting this model and hope it does what the announcement says!

Not sure...

by golden_snitch - 2013-11-22 03:11:49

... that these features can be loaded onto devices. Medtronic has lots of different models, so that having gotten the pacer just a few weeks ago does not necessarily mean that you have the Advisa or Revo model. If I were you I'd call Medtronic and ask them. Also, the patients in the study had paroxysmal afib. So, for anyone with persistent Afib the effectiveness might not be the same. Last but not least, this study seems to be only for those patients who have a lot of right ventricular pacing. The Reuters article says:

"Researchers conducting the 1,166-patient study, dubbed Minerva, found that the new pacing strategy helped avoid the side effects of continual electrical stimulation from standard pacemakers, which include weakening of the heart's main pumping chamber as well as a progression to permanent atrial fibrillation."

When people talk about side effects of continual electrical stimulation, they refer to a high percentage or permanent right ventricular pacing. Atrial pacing does not have these side effects.

Inga

Medtronic info

by Elleninminn - 2013-11-22 07:11:36

The back of the wallet card Medtronic sends to patients identifies the model, so it's easy to tell if you have an Advisa or Revo. The letters on the front of the card let you know the capabilities of the model, and a patient services tech will let you know what they stand for. The device will also last up to a year longer if the ventricular pacing is turned on. The battery life of the Revo is 7 to 12 years.

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