AtCor Medical Holdings Limited Release: Reducing Central Blood Pressure Shown to Reverse Heart Damage

ITASCA, IL--(Marketwire - May 18, 2011) - AtCor Medical Holdings Limited (ASX: ACG), the developer and marketer of the SphygmoCor® system which measures central blood pressures and arterial stiffness non-invasively, today announced that a study(1) published in the American Heart Association’s journal, Hypertension, showed that selectively lowering central blood pressure led to a significant reduction in left ventricular mass -- effectively a reversal of cardiac damage in high blood pressure patients.

Using AtCor Medical’s SphygmoCor® technology, the study compared the effects of a year of treatment using nebivolol, a vasodilating beta blocker, with metoprolol, a non-vasoactive beta blocker, in hypertensive patients. Patients were placed randomly into two groups receiving either nebivolol or metoprolol, and both brachial (measurement taken at the arm) and central blood pressure measurements were recorded.

While both groups showed a similar reduction in brachial blood pressure after one year, only nebivolol lowered central blood pressure.

Also, only the nebivolol group showed significant reduction in left ventricular mass indices. This was significantly correlated with the decrease in central pressure. In the metoprolol group, left ventricular mass indices and central blood pressure were unchanged.

As reductions in brachial pressure were similar in both groups, central pressure measurement was key to identifying the positive effects of treatment with nebivolol.

The study authors stated, “It has been demonstrated previously that, compared with brachial BP (blood pressure), central BP is a stronger determinant for left ventricular hypertrophy. Recent data from the Strong Heart Study also indicate that, in terms of reduction in left ventricular hypertrophy, it is more important to target central systolic than brachial BP.”

The new study showed also that brachial blood pressure measurement fails to identify reductions in risk shown by central pressure measurement.

Duncan Ross, President and CEO of AtCor Medical said: “This study is an important endorsement of the need to measure and manage central pressure. Current standard of care is simply inadequate, given the availability of a noninvasive, low cost technology that provides comprehensive data on central blood pressure -- SphygmoCor. The study further highlights the need to use central pressures to identify patients at risk of cardiovascular disease and manage their care.”

“Earlier studies have shown that drugs affect central and brachial pressure differently,” Ross continued. “This study shows that if elevated central pressure can be detected and lowered, damage to the heart can be reversed. Noninvasive central blood pressure monitoring, measuring the pressures the heart, brain and kidneys actually experience, will play an increasingly important role in diagnosis and treatment.”

About AtCor Medical
AtCor Medical develops and markets products for the early detection of cardiovascular risk and management of cardiovascular disease. Its technology allows researchers and clinicians to measure central blood pressure non-invasively. The company’s SphygmoCor® system visibly identifies the effects of reflected blood pressure in the central aortic pressure wave, effects which cannot be detected with standard blood pressure monitoring. More than 2,500 SphygmoCor® systems are currently in use worldwide at major medical institutions, physicians’ practices, research institutions and in clinical trials with leading pharmaceutical companies. The company’s technology has been featured in over 500 peer-reviewed studies published in leading medical journals. AtCor has operations in Australia, the United States, and Europe. For further information, please visit our web site at www.atcormedical.com

(1) Kampus et al. Differential Effects of Nebivolol and Metoprolol on Central Aortic Pressure and Left Ventricular Wall Thickness, Hypertension, 2011;57