Medtronic Touts Success of Heart Device

The medical technology company Medtronic Inc. is making its claim for a new way to treat irregular heartbeat.

Medtronic's device, the Arctic Front cardiac cryoablation catheter system, worked 10 times better than drugs currently approved for the most common type of heart rhythm disorder, according to a study released this morning at a conference of heart doctors in Atlanta.

The product uses a catheter to freeze and destory problem heart tissue that cause the condition, known as paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Medtronic says the product is an alternative to drugs on the market that often carry side effects and have a poor rate of success.

About 70 percent of patients were clear of problems a year after receiving a procedure using the Medtronic device, compared with only 7 percent of those receiving drug treatment, the study shows. The data is being used to convince U.S. regulators to approve Arctic Front, which already is being sold in Europe and Australia.

"The treatment options for (the condition) are just not very good today," Reggie Groves, a Medtronic vice president and general manager for the product, says in an interview.

The company hopes to get U.S. approval this fall, setting up a showdown with Johnson & Johnson, which sells a similar device. The global market for these type of products is about $2 billion, Groves says. In the U.S., 3 million people suffer from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Medtronic compared its device to three drugs solatol, propafenone and flecainide. The drugs are sold by different companies and go by various brand names, including GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Rythmol and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Sotalex.