June 2, 2016—CHELMSFORD, MASS.—ZOLL® Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group Company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that Valentina Kutyifa, MD, PhD, University of Rochester Medical Center will present, “One-Year Follow-Up of the Prospective Registry of Patients Using the Wearable Defibrillator (WEARIT-II Registry)” during the Late-Breaking Clinical Trials session at CARDIOSTIM/EUROPACE 2016 in Nice, France on Friday, 10 June, 09:00, Room 1.4–Level 1/Méditerranée, Session #168-01.

The WEARIT-II prospective registry includes over 2,000 patients prescribed with the LifeVest® Wearable Defibrillator, with enrollment initiated in 2011. Initial results demonstrated a high sustained VT/VF event rate, with 22 events per 100 patient-years—2.1% of patients had a VT/VF event.1 One in 14 patients experienced a clinically meaningful arrhythmia requiring intervention while wearing the LifeVest.1 The presentation of follow-up results will include new data on one-year survival following use of the LifeVest.

The LifeVest will be displayed in Booth A34 and will be the focus of additional scientific discussions during the following sessions:

•   A satellite symposium entitled “Systematic Ways to Protect Your Patients from SCD with the WCD” will be chaired by Prof. Daniel Scherr, Medizinische Universität Graz, Austria, and Prof. Nicolas Sadoul, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nancy-Brabois, France. It will be presented by Dr. Olivier Piot, Centre Cardiologique du Nord St. Denis, France; Dr. Mattias Roser, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany; and Prof. Thomas Deneke, Herz- und Gefäß-Klinik GmbH Bad Neustadt, Germany; Thursday, 9 June, 14:00-15:30, Room 1.1–Level 1/Méditerranée, Session #126.

•   Results from several studies focused on the wearable cardioverter defibrillator will be presented during the ICD Poster Session, Friday, 10 June, 09:00-12:30, Poster Area–Level 3/Agora 3, Session #176.

o Valentina Kutyifa, MD, PhD, University of Rochester Medical Center, will present “First Clinical Experience with the Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator in Left Ventricular Assist Device Patients,” Poster #176-42.

o David Duncker, MD, MHH Hannover, Germany, will present “Long-term ‘Real-life’ High- volume Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator Program–Single Centre Experience of 255 Patients Covering More than 50 Patient-years,” Poster #176-45.

o Tanja Odeneg, BSc, MSc, Medizinische Universität Graz, Austria, will present “Indications for the Use of the Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator–the Austrian LifeVest Registry,” Poster #176-46.

The wearable defibrillator is included in the 2015 European Society of Cardiology Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Ventricular Arrhythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) and has received formal recommendations in the 2016 American Heart Association Science Advisory for the Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator, with endorsement from the Heart Rhythm Society.

On any given day, tens of thousands of people around the world are protected from SCD by the LifeVest Wearable Defibrillator. The LifeVest is used for a wide range of patient conditions or situations, including following a myocardial infarction, before or after coronary revascularization, and for those with cardiomyopathy or congestive heart failure that places them at particular risk. The LifeVest gives physicians time to optimize medical therapy and assess a patient’s long-term risk for sudden death.

The LifeVest is lightweight and easy to wear, allowing patients to return to their common activities of daily living, while having the peace of mind that they are protected from SCD. The LifeVest continuously monitors the patient’s heart and, if a life-threatening heart rhythm is detected, the device delivers a treatment shock to restore normal heart rhythm.

About ZOLL Medical Corporation

ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group Company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and monitoring, circulation and CPR feedback, data management, therapeutic temperature management, and ventilation, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, and lay rescuers treat victims needing resuscitation and acute critical care. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.

About Asahi Kasei

The Asahi Kasei Group is a diversified group of companies led by holding company Asahi Kasei Corp., with operations in the material, homes, and health care business sectors. Its health care operations include devices and systems for acute critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals and diagnostic reagents. With more than 30,000 employees around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group serves customers in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/asahi/en/.

1Kutyifa V, Moss AJ, Klein H, et al. Use of the Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator in High-Risk Cardiac Patients: Data from the Prospective Registry of Patients Using the Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator (WEARIT-II Registry). Circulation 2015; 132(17): 1613-1619.

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