LATITUDE Active Monitoring™ alerts physician of silent AF episode

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Implanting Physician: P. David Margolis, M.D., F.A.C.C., Medical Director, Arrhythmia Services, Via Christi Regional Medical Center, Wichita, Kansas American Board of Internal Medicine, cardiac electrophysiology; principal investigator for MADIT-CRT study, myopathic population with NYHA class II CHF.

History: The patient has a history of atrial fibrillation. Typically, within several days after the onset of an AF episode, the patient would begin to notice symptoms of clinical decompensation including fatigue, shortness of breath, and leg swelling. Dr. Margolis enrolled the patient in LATITUDE Patient Management and opted to enable LATITUDE Active Monitoring.

Incorporating LATITUDE Active Monitoring into this patient's care: Enabling LATITUDE Active Monitoring allows Dr. Margolis to monitor certain device and patient conditions between regularly scheduled follow-ups, including daily and weekly device checks. If a red or yellow alert occurs, LATITUDE Customer Support notifies Dr. Margolis by phone or fax. Based on this patient's history, one of the monitored conditions selected by Dr. Margolis was to be alerted if the patient should experience an atrial tachycardia response episode, or a mode switch, for more than 24 hours.

Situation: Dr. Margolis was notified via faxed alert notification from LATITUDE that this patient had an episode of silent atrial fibrillation.

Action: The patient was called in to the physician's office, where a cardioversion procedure was performed to restore his heart to a normal sinus rhythm.

Response: Dr. Margolis said, "By the ability to quickly recognize his episode of atrial fibrillation, we were able to see the patient in the office, cardiovert his atrial fibrillation through a commanded shock and the patient did not need to be hospitalized." He continued, "With this patient, LATITUDE Active Monitoring gave me an early opportunity to identify an event previously associated with decompensation and intervene before the patient became symptomatic."

Individual symptoms, situations, and circumstances may vary. Patients should consult a physician or qualified health provider regarding their medical condition and appropriate medical treatment. The information provided is not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment or as a substitute for professional medical advice. This information is to be used in conjunction with other resource material, which may include the applicable patient handbook, Boston Scientific device physician's manual and any implant accessories instructions for use.