This study was presented at the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) conference in May 2016. This study is titled "Longevity of implant Cardioverter-defibrillators for cardiac resynchronization therapy in current clinical practice" and is an analysis of the economic impact of device longevity of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators for cardiac resynchronization therapy from a healthcare service perspective. 

This study found that device replacement for battery depletion proved to be a significant cost-driver in a large cohort of patients (N=1399, January 2008 – March 2010) treated with CRT-D over 6 years and that the improved longevity of recent-generation CRT-Ds reduced the cost of therapy. The total cost of therapy of recent-generation CRT-Ds was 6% lower than that of earlier-generation devices and the maximum difference in the cost of therapy was 19% among recent-generation CRT-Ds from different manufacturers. 

The study concluded that the adoption of long-lasting devices could free resources, thereby enabling a large number of new patients requiring cardiac resynchronization therapy to be treated. Therefore, Dr. Landolina believes that this study applies to multiple stakeholders: the physician in charge of the selection of the device, the patient who is directly impacted by the performance of the device, and the payer (the health system or the hospital). 

This multi-center economic analysis of device longevity of a real-world cohort of patients expands on Dr. Landolina’s results first published in Europace (2015). This initial study showed that patients receiving an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator for cardiac resynchronization therapy are likely to undergo one or more device replacements after the first implantation, mainly for battery depletion. Boston Scientific’s modern CRT-Ds had the lowest risk of replacement at 5 years, with 88% CRT-D survival for Boston Scientific, 75% for St. Jude Medical and 52% for Medtronic. 

Post the results of both of these studies, Dr. Landolina concludes, “Longevity should be regarded as a crucial criterion for selecting CRT-D devices.”