Wedensky Modulation Identifies Sudden Cardiac Arrest Risk in Patients

Harbinger Medical Inc.? of Minneapolis, Minnesota USA today announced the results of a study presented at the 2008 Cardiostim meeting in Nice. Four abstracts, including two poster workshops by the study´s primary investigator Dr. Peter Brady, FRCP, Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN, showed that a Wedensky Modulation Index identified more than 80 percent of all life–threatening arrhythmic events that occurred in the study population.

The Harbinger ICD Patient (HIP) study culminated years of research into Wedensky Modulation, a spectral analysis of sub–threshold stimulation to alternating cardiac cycles. The HIP study enrolled 329 myocardial infarction (heart attack) patients with recently implanted ICDs, separated into two groups based on their Wedensky Modulation Index (WMIRT). The 161 patients in the WMIRT –High group (WMIRT > 0.5) were 64 percent more likely to experience a life–threatening arrhythmia compared to the 106 patients in the WMIRT –Low group (WMIRT ? 0.5).

"We are strongly encouraged by these results. WMI may be used to help physicians identify patients who are at higher near–term risk for SCA," said principal investigator Dr. Peter Brady of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. "This information may also help reluctant high–risk patients understand the importance of considering ICD therapy."

Wedensky Modulation describes cardiac tissue response to sub–threshold stimulation. The Wedensky Modulation Indices (WMI) are derived from the spectral analysis of Wedensky Modulation by applying sub–threshold electrical stimulation to alternating cardiac cycles and comparing the stimulated and non–stimulated beats. Specific segments of the cardiac cycle may be analyzed. WMIR, WMIT, and WMIRT are indices derived from the R–wave, T–wave and the combined R– and T–waves respectively. The HIP study was stopped at 12 months upon reaching its primary end–point based on WMIR (P