FDA Approves New St. Jude Cardiac Rhythm Management Device

St. Paul, MN-based St. Jude Medical received FDA approval of a new cardiac rhythm management device designed to help physicians manage heart failure (HF) patients, including patients who have or may develop atrial fibrillation (AF), the company reported.

The Atlas II+ HF CRT-D (cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator)—about the size of a pocket watch—is the first US heart failure device to offer the AF Suppression algorithm, which the company claims helps to control the heart’s atrial rhythm by pacing slightly faster than the patient’s natural heart rate.

A CRT-D device provides cardiac resynchronization therapy for patients with heart failure, a progressive condition that weakens the heart, causes the lower chambers of the heart to beat out of sync, and results in the heart’s inability to effectively pump an adequate supply of blood to the body. Approximately 550,000 new patients are diagnosed with HF each year in the United States, according to the American Heart Association.