FDA approves St Jude's ShockGuard

St Jude Medical says federal regulators have approved its technology for reducing the number of shocks to people with implantable heart defibrillators, reports the Business Journal.

The approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) comes just a couple of weeks after competitor Medtronic said it received FDA approval for a similar family of products.

According to the Cardiovascular Business, the ShockGuard technology uses DecisionTx programming to help discriminate between rhythms that require defibrillation therapy and those that do not.

The software uses sensing technology to avoid unwanted T-waves and provides more anti-tachycardia pacing options, which can help convert ventricular arrhythmias and help avoid shocks.

“The St Jude Medical ShockGuard technology has been demonstrated to reduce inappropriate defibrillation therapy, while still ensuring that patients will receive the treatment needed for life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias,” says Thomas F Deering, MD, Piedmont Heart Institute, reveals Stock House.