May 14, 2014 — The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that new preliminary data show an overall 9 percent decrease in hospital-acquired conditions nationally during 2011 and 2012. National reductions in adverse drug events, falls, infections and other forms of hospital-induced harm are estimated to have prevented nearly 15,000 deaths in hospitals, avoided 560,000 patient injuries and approximately $4 billion in health spending over the same period.

May 14, 2014 — Vivek Reddy, M.D., director of arrhythmia services for The Mount Sinai Hospital, reported promising 12-month follow-up data showing the world's first leadless pacemaker is demonstrating overall device performance comparable to conventional pacemakers. Reddy presented the one-year LEADLESS study data findings during a late-breaking clinical trial presentation on Heart Rhythm 2014, the Heart Rhythm Society's (HRS) 35th annual scientific sessions in San Francisco.

May 13, 2014 — The Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) released Expert Consensus Statement on the Use of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Therapy in Patients Who Are Not Included or Not Well Represented in Clinical Trials at Heart Rhythm 2014, the 35th annual scientific sessions of HRS. The expert consensus statement provides first-of-its-kind guidance on ICD therapy for the management of patient populations who are not well represented in clinical trials and, as a result, not specifically included in existing guidelines.

A Boston Scientific Corp. study demonstrated that outcomes for patients with the company's transvenous implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) who received routine defibrillation testing (DT) at implant were similar to outcomes for those patients who did not receive defibrillation testing.

May 12, 2014 — Patients using the Boston Scientific Latitude remote patient management system with wireless telemetry demonstrated significantly lower mortality and fewer hospitalizations than patients with Latitude-compatible devices who were not followed on the system, according to results from the PREDICt-RM study (Patient RElated Determinants of ICD Remote Monitoring Utilization and Outcomes). The results were presented at Heart Rhythm 2014, the Heart Rhythm Society's (HRS) 35th annual scientific sessions in San Francisco.