Medical Management and Diagnostic Testing among Stable Angina Patients in India: The STable Angina obseRvational (STAR) Registry.

Objective: To study the practice pattern in the management of patients with stable angina (SA) in India.

Methods: The Stable Angina obseRvational Registry (STAR) prospectively enrolled patients provisionally diagnosed with SA by non-interventional practicing internists in India. Patients were followed for 3 months after enrollment to assess medical treatment, diagnostic management, and interventional treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Diagnosis of high-voltage conductor fractures in Sprint Fidelis leads.

Background: Fractures of pace/sense conductors in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads have been studied extensively, but little is known about fractures of high-voltage (HV) conductors.

Objective: To characterize the presentation of isolated HV conductor fractures, define the optimal impedance threshold for identifying them, and compare it to the existing nominal impedance threshold (200 Ω) for patient and remote-monitoring alerts.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed HV fractures in explanted, dual-coil, model 6949 Sprint Fidelis leads (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN).

Preventing overdiagnosis of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator lead fractures using device diagnostics.

Objectives: This study sought to use implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) diagnostics to discriminate ICD lead fractures from normally functioning leads with high impedance and from connection problems between the lead and header.

Background: ICD diagnostics facilitate identification of fractures, but there are no accepted criteria for discriminating fractures from other causes of high impedance and/or nonphysiological "noise" oversensing.

Methods: We analyzed a development set of 91 leads to construct a stepwise algorithm based on ICD diagnostics.

Downloadable software algorithm reduces inappropriate shocks caused by implantable cardioverter-defibrillator lead fractures: a prospective study.

Background: Downloadable software upgrades are common in consumer electronics but not in implantable medical devices. Fractures of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads present commonly as inappropriate shocks. A lead-integrity alert (LIA) designed to reduce inappropriate shocks is the first software download approved to enhance nominally functioning, previously implanted ICDs.