A new Boston Scientific implantable device for the heart called a cardiac resynchronizer appears to reduce death and the need for further interventions in patients with mild heart failure, according to a study sponsored by the company . The 1,800 patient, four-year trial showed that those who had implanted cardiac resynchronizers, which the WSJ describes as devices that use electrical signals to help the heart beat more efficiently, had a 29% reduction on the primary endpoints of death or heart failure interventions compared with patients who had an traditional cardiac defibrillators. A debrillator jolts the heart when it detects the organ has stopped beating. That’s good news for Boston Scientific,

since it paid a lot of money to buy device maker Guidant in 2006, largely for its defibrillator business. But the implantable cardiac device market has been slow in the last few years. One way to increase sales is to expand the use of such devices in more patients, which Boston Scientific and its competitors have been trying to do. Another device maker, Medtronic, failed to show that cardiac resynchronizers help patients with mild heart failure in a smaller trial last year but has said it plans to seek FDA approval, according to the WSJ.

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Boston Scientific Gets Good Data on Heart-Tuning Device