MONTREAL, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - CryoCath(R) Technologies Inc., the global leader in cryotherapy products to treat cardiac arrhythmias, is pleased to report on its participation in Heart Rhythm 2008, the most prominent and comprehensive educational event on heart rhythm disorders. The event was held from May 14 to 17 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. This year, the meeting attracted a record-breaking 13,600 attendees and provided 250 educational opportunities in multiple formats. The world’s leading electrophysiologists presented a broad range of heart rhythm topics.
CryoCath marked its presence at this prestigious gathering with 12 poster presentations and 10 well-attended oral presentations. For the most part, these presentations focused on the Arctic Front(R) cryoballoon system for pulmonary-vein isolation in the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Other presentations dealt with CryoCath’s family of focal catheters for the treatment of a range of arrhythmias.
CryoCath’s presence at Heart Rhythm 2008 provided the company with an excellent opportunity to further familiarize physicians with the growing body of evidence in favour of the cryoballoon approach in the treatment of AF. This included the consistent, positive results from multiple centres reported at the most recent Annual Meeting of the German Cardiac Society in Mannheim in March 2008.
A continuing area of discussion among electrophysiologists throughout the Heart Rhythm meeting was the possibility of injury and potentially fatal esophageal fistula due to ablation. Specifically, two presentations focused on this problem. As reported by Dr. Hiroshi Nakagawa, an animal study found that heat-based ablations can cause progressive ulceration of the esophagus, leading to esophagitis and fistula. In contrast, further study on the effects to the esophagus with cryoablation found that while cryo can cause ulcerations, they heal quickly. Furthermore, with cryoablation there was no esophagitis and no fistula formation. These findings, regarding the effects of cryo-based ablation on the esophagus, were reinforced by results in a clinical case study with Arctic Front reported by Dr. Vivek Reddy.
About Arctic Front
Arctic Front is a minimally invasive cryo-balloon catheter designed specifically to treat paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation. This bi-directional, double balloon catheter enables physicians to rapidly isolate all four pulmonary veins for the treatment of AFib. Over 2,600 patients have been treated in over 45 centres across Europe.
About CryoCath
CryoCath - www.cryocath.com - is a medical technology company that leads the world in cryotherapy products to treat cardiac arrhythmias. With a priority focus on providing physicians with a complete solution of catheter products to treat cardiac arrhythmias, CryoCath has multiple products approved in the U.S., across Europe and several ROW countries. The Company is developing additional products to expand its pipeline of products to treat cardiac arrhythmias.
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including with respect to the timing of regulatory trials and their outcome. For information identifying legislative or regulatory, economic, climatic, currency, technological, competitive and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward looking statements, see CryoCath’s annual report available at www.sedar.com under the heading Risks and Uncertainties in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section.
CONTACT: visit our website at www.cryocath.com, or contact: Michael Moore,
Investor Relations, Phone: (416) 815-0700, ext. 241, Fax: (416) 815-0080,
E-mail: mmoore@equicomgroup.com
