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Major Texas EMS Group Achieves Dramatic Improvement in Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation Rates

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 November 2006, 12:00 CST

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Circulatory Systems, Inc. announced today that its ResQPOD(R), (an impedance threshold device or ITD) has been shown to improve resuscitation rates in cardiac arrest victims by nearly 50 percent at Cypress Creek Emergency Medical Services. Cypress Creek EMS is a large emergency medical care organization in northern Harris County, Texas serving more than 400,000 in the greater Houston area.

The Cypress Creek EMS results are significant because the national average for resuscitation after cardiac arrest is so dismal: In the U.S., fewer than 1 in 5 cardiac arrest victims live to be admitted to a hospital.

In a presentation at the annual American Heart Association (AHA) meeting in Chicago this week, the System Manager for Cypress Creek EMS, Greg Wolf, presented data that showed that overall resuscitation rates were up nearly 50 percent since the deployment of the ResQPOD. The use of the ResQPOD as standard protocol in cardiac arrest victims by Cypress Creek EMS has increased hospital admission rates from 26 percent to 38 percent. The device has been the standard of care in Cypress Creek operations for more than one year.

"These results are gratifying and we applaud the entire Cypress Creek EMS organization for their advanced EMS care and their ability to turn around the dismal statistics that surround cardiac arrest," said Dr. Keith Lurie, Chief Medical Officer of Advanced Circulatory Systems, Inc. "It clearly shows the importance of following the new AHA guidelines for emergency cardiac response, which includes use of an ITD to increase blood flow during CPR."

Cypress Creek EMS was founded more than 30 years ago as a community-based EMS operation serving unincorporated areas of northern Harris County in the greater Houston area. It has grown to where today it operates seven stations throughout its 250-square-mile service area. It serves more than 400,000 people who rely on Cypress Creek EMS to provide around-the-clock emergency care. There are nine licensed Mobil Intensive Care Units and an extensive team of First Responders who answer calls, along with a base of more than 200 volunteers. Cypress Creek EMS was one of the first major EMS operations in Texas to broadly deploy the ResQPOD in 2005.

The AHA released new guidelines for CPR and emergency cardiac care at their annual meeting in 2005 that included a Class IIa recommendation for an impedance threshold device to enhance circulation during CPR. The AHA said in its report at the time that the use of an impedance threshold device (such as the ResQPOD) had been shown to improve circulation during CPR and increase the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in cardiac arrest patients. A Class IIa rating is the second highest rating possible and, according to the AHA, it is given when "the weight of evidence supports the action or therapy and the therapy is considered acceptable and useful." That makes the ResQPOD more highly recommended by the AHA than any other device or drug used by emergency personnel for increasing circulation during CPR and improving resuscitation rates, including routinely used drugs like adrenaline. The ResQPOD is the only impedance threshold device currently on the market in the United States.

Cardiac arrest, even with CPR, results in a profound state of shock. Increasing blood flow to the heart and brain until the heart can be restarted is critical to improving survival rates with good neurological function. Advanced Circulatory System's ResQPOD contains proprietary new technology that increases circulation in states of low blood pressure. When used in patients in cardiac arrest, the ResQPOD harnesses the chest wall recoil after each compression to generate a small but critical vacuum within the chest. This vacuum enhances blood flow back to the heart and results in a marked increase in blood flow out of the heart with each subsequent chest compression.

According to the AHA, more than 95% of the 350,000 Americans who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital never survive. Recent research has focused on how to increase survival rates through effective CPR in non-hospital settings. While not a panacea, the ResQPOD offers new hope to the millions of patients who suffer from a cardiac arrest worldwide each year. The ResQPOD, introduced to the US market in 2004, is now used by hospital and EMS personnel throughout the US and internationally and is distributed by Tri-anim Health Services, Inc. (Sylmar, CA).

Advanced Circulatory Systems produces products to improve the outcomes of cardiac resuscitation, circulatory shock and head trauma. Advanced Circulatory System's technology may be used in any medical situation where an increase in circulation is of benefit, for example, cardiac arrest, blood loss, orthostatic hypotension, heat shock, and dialysis. For more information or to inquire about use of the ResQPOD, please contact Advanced Circulatory Systems at 952-947-9590 or 1-877-737-7763.

For media information, including interviews or electronic images to accompany this news, please call or email Joanne Henry at 612-843-2142 or email jhenry@henryschafer.com .

The generally cleared indication for the ResQPOD is a temporary increase in blood circulation during emergency care, hospital, clinic and home use. Studies are ongoing in the United States to evaluate the long-term benefit of the ResQPOD for indications related to patients suffering from cardiac arrest, hypotension during dialysis and severe blood loss. The references in this communication are not intended to imply specific outcome-based claims not yet cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration. Clinical study references are available upon request.

Advanced Circulatory Systems, Inc.

CONTACT: Media Contact, Joanne Henry, +1-612-843-2142,jhenry@henryschafer.com , or Product Information Contact, Jim Flom of AdvancedCirculatory Systems, +1-952-947-9590, jflom@advancedcirculatory.com

Source: PRNewswire

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