Dr. Kanner recently implanted the S-ICD® System, the world’s first and only ICD that functions without leads.

1. For Immediate Release April 3, 2014
Contact: Damian Becker, Manager of Media Relations
(516) 377-5370
World’s First Subcutaneous ICD Treats Cardiac Arrest
without Touching the Heart
Oceanside, NY – A breakthrough treatment alternative to the traditional implantable
cardio-defibrillator (ICD) provides patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) with the same
potentially-lifesaving protection, but without touching the heart.
Lawrence Kanner, MD, FACC, director of electrophysiology and arrhythmia services at
South Nassau Communities Hospital, recently implanted the S-ICD® System, the world’s first
and only implantable cardioverter-defibrillator that functions without leads (also known as
electrodes – the thin, insulated wires attached to a typical ICD) placed into the heart.
The S-ICD System provides defibrillation therapy for the treatment of life-threatening
rapid heart rhythms in patients who do not require pacemaker support and whose rapid heart
rhythms are not reliably terminated with pacing.
SCA is an abrupt loss of heart function. Most episodes are caused by a rapid and/or
chaotic heart beat or ventricular fibrillation (the uncoordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle
of the ventricles of the heart). Recent estimates show that approximately 850,000 people in the
United States are at risk of SCA and would benefit from an ICD device, but remain unprotected.
Each year, SCA claims the lives of up to 460,000 people in the U.S. alone, and more people die
from it than from lung cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined.
“ICDs and CRT-Ds have been proven in clinical studies to save and extend lives by
preventing sudden cardiac death (SCD) and treating heart failure,” added Dr. Kanner.
The S-ICD System has two main components: (1) the generator, which powers the
system, monitors heart activity, and delivers a shock if needed, and (2) the electrode, which
enables the device to sense the cardiac rhythm and deliver shocks when necessary. Both
components are implanted just under the skin—the generator at the side of the chest, and the
electrode beside the breastbone. Unlike traditional transvenous ICDs, which are inserted through
a vein, the heart and blood vessels remain untouched with the S-ICD system. Implantation with
the S-ICD System is straightforward, using anatomical landmarks, and does not require
News From:

2. fluoroscopy (an x-ray procedure that makes it possible to see internal organs in motion).
Fluoroscopy is required for implanting the leads attached to typical transvenous ICD systems.
Dr. Kanner and South Nassau’s Center for Cardiovascular Health have been in the
forefront in providing heart failure patients on Long Island with the latest advancements in ICD
devices and electrophysiology services. Dr. Kanner was the first electrophysiologist on Long
Island to implant several groundbreaking cardiac devices: the Viva® cardiac resynchronization
therapy device with defibrillation (CRT-D) (which continuously adjusts to individual patient
needs and preserves each patient’s normal heart rhythms; Incepta® ICD (recognized as the
world’s smallest and thinnest ICD); Evia®
pacemaker (which incorporates a wireless monitoring
system that immediately notifies the patient’s physician if the patient or the pacemaker is
experiencing complications) and was among the first to implant the Revo MRI™ SureScan®
pacing system (the first pacemaker in the U.S. specifically designed for use in a MRI
environment).
In addition to ICDs, Dr. Kanner and electrophysiologists at the Center for
Cardiovascular Health use an array of other advanced technologies and treatments to provide
timely, accurate diagnoses and therapies for the range of cardiac arrhythmias. This includes
diagnostic studies, defibrillator maintenance, implanting and testing of pacemakers, and
radiofrequency catheter ablation.
Designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC),
South Nassau® Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 435 beds,
more than 900 physicians and 3,000 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an
acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac,
oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services. In
addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency and
elective angioplasty, and is the only hospital on Long Island with the Novalis Tx™ and Gamma
Knife® radiosurgery technologies. South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by the New York
State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American
College of Surgeons and is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Association and Quality Improvement Program. In addition, the hospital has been awarded the
Joint Commission’s gold seal of approval as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures,
including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care; and disease-specific care for
hip and joint replacement, wound care and end-stage renal disease. For more information, visit
www.southnassau.org.
-30-