St. Jude Heart Devices Approved in Europe

St. Jude Medical announced that the European Union has approved its Epic II ICD and Epic II heart-failure device.
    The devices — approved in the United States in May — are designed to treat patients with potentially fatal heart arrhythmias and heart failure.
    The Epic II implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and the Epic II heart-failure device have faster device data transmission to speed patient follow-up exams, St. Jude said.
    “Telemetry in the new Epic II ICD is noticeably faster, particularly when downloading stored electrograms,” said Firat Duru, professor and director of pacing and electrophysiology at the University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, who performed the first European implant of the Epic II ICD.
    “Unlike other products on the market that use an audible notifier, the Epic II device may be particularly helpful for patients who have trouble hearing,” he noted in a statement issued by St. Jude.