The Pacemaker's Continuing Evolution: St. Jude Looks at New Apnea Therapy

The pacemaker is the ancient warhorse of the cardiac rhythm management business--45 years old and still ticking. One reason: companies keep improving and finding new uses for it. Along with treating arrhythmias, the major CRM companies have adapted pacemakers to become part of an increasingly successful device-oriented approach to treating congestive heart failure. And now St. Jude Medical is the first CRM company to begin a clinical trial investigating whether pacemakers may be an effective treatment for sleep apnea.

The pacemaker is the ancient warhorse of the cardiac rhythm management (CRM) business—45 years old and still ticking. One reason: companies keep improving and finding new uses for it. Along with treating arrhythmias, the major CRM companies have adapted pacemakers to become part of an increasingly successful approach to treating congestive heart failure (CHF). And now St. Jude Medical Inc. is the first CRM company to begin a clinical trial investigating whether pacemakers can treat sleep apnea.

The severe consequences that sleep apnea can produce have only recently begun to be understood. A widespread disorder that afflicts roughly 18 million Americans, including a third of all pacemaker...

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