Medtronic initiates new study of evidence-based heart failure treatment

Medtronic has initiated a new clinical study that aims to assess the implementation of evidence-based treatment guidelines among chronic heart failure patients after they are discharged from hospital.

The first patient has been enrolled for the Improve HF bridge study, which will analyse around 120 patients from four US centres for six months with the aim of evaluating gaps in treatment provision in primary care settings.

Subjects will be cared for by either a primary care physician alone or by both a heart failure specialist and primary care physician, in order to see how this affects adherence to therapy guidelines.

The ultimate goal of this study will be to help reduce the rate of readmission to hospital among heart failure patients, a frequent issue due to the complexity of managing the disease.

Pat Mackin, president of the cardiac rhythm disease management business and senior vice-president at Medtronic, said the study "underscores our commitment to ensuring that all heart failure patients receive the best possible care through clinically-validated treatment options based on the individual's specific disease state".

This comes after the company commenced enrolment for a new trial of the Arctic Front Cardiac CryoAblation System last month.