(Philadelphia, PA)-"Heart failure is a leading cause of death and nearly 5 million people in the United States suffer from it," says Mariell Jessup, MD, Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the Heart Failure and Transplantation Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). Jessup, along with David Callans, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Electrophysiology Laboratory, served as co-principle investigators for HUP's component of the largest heart-failure device trial ever undertaken to investigate whether an implantable pacemaker-type device will reduce death and hospitalization for advanced heart failure patients. Results from the three-year, multi-center Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing and Defibrillation in Chronic Heart Failure Study, or COMPANION, trial appear in the May 20th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. A total of 16 HUP patients were enrolled in the trial. The COMPANION trial took place at 128 other sites with about 1500 participants total.

"For years, we have struggled with a critical dilemma in the management of heart failure -- how to effectively treat the patients' problems, provide them with improved quality of life and prolong their longevity," Jessup said. "This study is important because it helps us further clarify which patients will benefit most from which therapies."

Results indicate that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and optimized pharmacologic therapy (OPT) used in concert significantly improve participants' quality and length of life. CRT devices use electrical stimulation to synchronize contractions of the right and left ventricles. When compared with OPT alone, the COMPANION study showed a 19 percent reduction in combined overall mortality or hospitalization for heart-failure patients implanted with Guidant CRT pacemakers, as well as a similar reduction (20 percent) for patients implanted with Guidant CRT defibrillators. There was a 36 percent reduction in
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Contact: Ed Federico
ed.federico@uphs.upenn.edu
215-349-5659
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
24-May-2004

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