Cambridge Heart Releases Statement By Dr. Theodore Chow on MTWA Testing
Cambridge Heart, Inc. (OTCBB: CAMH), today issued the following statement from Dr. Theodore Chow, Director of Electrophysiology Research for the Carl and Edith Lindner Clinical Trials Center at the Ohio Heart and Vascular Center, regarding Microvolt T-Wave Alternans (MTWA) Testing.
Dr. Chow stated, “The recent MASTER and ALPHA Trials have helped to clarify the role of MTWA testing in current practice, and I am proud to have been part of this effort. These studies are consistent with the notion that MTWA testing identifies patients more or less likely to suffer “hard endpoints” (i.e. mortality) but is less able to discriminate which ICD treated patients will receive shocks. The discrepancy between mortality and ICD shock data may relate to the fact that many (possibly the majority) of ICD shocks are for ventricular arrhythmias that would not have proven lethal. It is important to view these trials through the lens of the substantial body of existing MTWA literature.
“I believe that MTWA testing in today’s clinical practice can add value to the patient encounter. MTWA testing provides additional information about a patient’s mortality risk profile that could influence the chosen therapy. While I firmly support evidenced based ICD therapy, I also believe that a good physician brings more to the clinical encounter than recollection of a treatment pathway–that doctoring is about treating the patient, not the ECHO. While MTWA testing may not influence the clinical decision every time, having more information about your patient’s risk profile is frequently still better than having less when making an informed decision. By analogy, I do not necessarily need a CXR [chest x-ray] to know that my patient has pneumonia, but I order it because it provides me with a deeper understanding of my patient’s condition. In those cases where more data about mortality risk helps make one a better doctor, I advocate MTWA testing.”
About Cambridge Heart, Inc.
Cambridge Heart (www.cambridgeheart.com) is engaged in the development and commercialization of products for the non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac disease, particularly the identification of those at risk of sudden cardiac arrest. The Company’s products incorporate its proprietary Microvolt T-Wave Alternans measurement technologies, coupled with its patented Spectral Analytic Method and ultra-sensitive disposable electrode sensors. Only Spectral Analytic Method MTWA tests are reimbursed by Medicare under its National Coverage Policy that covers patients with a wide variety of cardiac symptoms. Other major insurers in the USA also have coverage policies for the test. The T-Wave Alternans test is included in the Guideline for Management of Patients with Ventricular Arrhythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death jointly developed by the American College of Cardiology (ACC), The American Heart Association (AHA) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The Company, founded in 1990, is based in Bedford, Massachusetts and is traded on the OTCBB under the symbol CAMH.
About the Cambridge Heart Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Test
The Cambridge Heart Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Test measures a specific extremely subtle pattern of beat-to-beat fluctuations in a person’s electrocardiogram. This pattern of fluctuations is called T-wave alternans. These tiny variations in the electrocardiogram – measured at one millionth of a volt accuracy — are most commonly measured during a sub-maximal exercise stress test in the doctor’s office or hospital outpatient setting. The preparation for the test consists of placing proprietary sensors on the patient’s chest. Extensive clinical research has shown that those patients who are at risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia that test positive for microvolt T-wave alternans are at increased risk for sudden cardiac death, while those who test negative are at reduced risk.
Statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, we use words such as “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “estimates”, “could”, and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause or contribute to such differences include failure to achieve broad market acceptance of the Company’s MTWA technology, failure to achieve broad market acceptance of the Company’s MTWA technology, failure of our sales and marketing partner to market our products effectively, inability to hire and retain qualified clinical applications specialists in the Company’s target markets, failure to obtain or maintain adequate levels of third-party reimbursement for use of the Company’s MTWA test, customer delays in making final buying decisions, decreased demand for the Company’s products, failure to obtain funding necessary to develop or enhance our technology, adverse results in future clinical studies of our technology, failure to obtain or maintain patent protection for our technology and other factors identified in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K under “Risk Factors”, which is on file with the SEC and available at www.EDGAR.com. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our estimates only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so except as may be legally necessary, even if our estimates should change