Medtronic study shows benefits of new heart failure therapy

Medtronic has announced positive findings from Block HF, a clinical trial showing the benefits of biventricular (BiV) pacing techniques in the treatment of heart failure.

Data from the study showed that this method – which involves simultaneous pacing of the lower chambers of the heart using a cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) device – can significantly improve heart failure symptoms and quality of life among a subset of patients.

People affected by atrioventricular block and left ventricular systolic dysfunction were shown to experience better outcomes when receiving BiV treatment rather than conventional right-ventricular (RV) pacing.

Dr David Steinhaus, vice-president and general manager for heart failure and medical director for the cardiac rhythm disease management business at Medtronic, said: "RV pacing has been considered the gold standard for decades … however, findings from the Block HF trial continue to exhibit better overall outcomes with BiV pacing via CRT devices for these patients."

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