Implantable Cardiac Monitor Warns of Impending Heart Attack

A second-generation real-time cardiac monitor prompts high-risk acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients to seek urgent medical care.

The Angel Medical Systems (AngelMed; Eatontown, NJ, USA) AngelMed Guardian System is an implantable cardiac detection monitor and patient-warning system for ACS events, including silent heart attacks, 24 hours a day. The second- generation device is enhanced with ease-of-use adaptations and an updated, long life battery that can potentially double the lifetime of the implanted device. Additional features include recording and analysis of heart signal data; tracking of ST-segment data and heart rate for up to six months; and vibration alerts.

In addition to vibration alert, the AngelMed Guardian communicates with a pager-sized device that both beeps and flashes an alert. Once at the hospital, the data can be wirelessly retrieved to inform clinicians on the best treatment pathway. AngelMed Guardian is implanted subcutaneously during a low-risk, outpatient surgical procedure that is almost identical to that of a single channel pacemaker, with a lead in the right ventricle. At the end of the implantation procedure the device must be set to collect data over a two-week period, after which the physician meets with the patient during an initial clinic visit for programming.

“The improved AngelMed Guardian device will have a meaningful effect on the current standard of patient cardiology care for ACS events. Our dedicated team and supporting physicians have worked tirelessly to bring this disruptive technology to market,” said Brad Snow, CEO of AngelMed. “As the first real-time detection device for high-risk heart attack patients, the AngelMed Guardian System provides critical data at the point of care, along with peace of mind for physicians and patients alike.”

“Patients who have had a prior ACS event often remain at high-risk of a recurrent event. Even those patients who are on alert for another potential cardiac event may delay seeking treatment,” said C. Michael Gibson MD, of Boston Clinical Research Institute (BCRI; MA, USA). “The AngelMed Guardian System has demonstrated the ability to identify the earliest signs of an ACS event, including heart attacks, more effectively than patients' symptoms alone, and in patients who do not experience symptoms at all.”

ACS is usually one of three diseases involving the coronary arteries; STEMI (30%), NSTEMI (25%), or unstable angina (38%), which are named according to the appearance of the electrocardiogram (ECG) as non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). ACS should be distinguished from stable angina, which develops during exertion and resolves at rest. In contrast with stable angina, unstable angina occurs suddenly, often at rest or with minimal exertion, or at lesser degrees of exertion than the individual's previous angina.

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