The Viva is equipped with the latest advancement in shock reduction programing that enables the device to better differentiate between dangerous and harmless heart rhythms.

1. For Immediate Release August 12, 2013
Contact: Damian Becker, Manager of Media Relations
(516) 377-5370
South Nassau First to Implant Latest Advancement in
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
Oceanside, NY – South Nassau Communities Hospital was the first on Long Island to
treat patients with a cardiac resynchronization therapy device recently approved by the FDA that
demonstrated a 21 percent reduction in overall heart failure hospitalizations within the first year
after implant as compared to previous trials for cardiac resynchronization therapy devices.
The device, the Viva® cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillation (CRT-D),
has an adaptive algorithm function, which allows it to continuously adjust to individual patient
needs and preserve each patient’s normal heart rhythms. The Viva is equipped with the latest
advancement in shock reduction programing that enables the device to better differentiate
between dangerous and harmless heart rhythms.
The device is also shaped for patient comfort with a contoured design that reduces skin
pressure by 30 percent. It has a battery life of up to 11 years (a 25-percent increase in battery
longevity as compared to other devices) and the only defibrillator lead with 10 years of
demonstrated performance with active monitoring.
"The device has demonstrated that it can improve patients' overall quality of life, while
reducing unnecessary hospitalizations," said Lawrence Kanner, MD, FACC, director of
Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia Services at South Nassau.
Dr. Kanner and the 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 on Long Island to implant the Incepta®
ICD (recognized as the world’s smallest and thinnest ICD), Evia®
pacemaker (which
incorporates wireless monitoring system that immediately notifies the patient’s physician if the
patient or the pacemaker is experiencing complications) and Revo MRI™ SureScan® pacing
system (the first pacemaker in the U.S. specifically designed for use in a MRI environment).
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2. 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. Each year, SCD claims the
lives of up to 460,000 people in the U.S. alone, and more people die from SCD than from lung
cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined.
Nearly 22 million people worldwide currently suffer from heart failure, a debilitating
condition in which the heart weakens and gradually loses the ability to pump blood effectively.
Approximately one million new cases of heart failure are diagnosed annually worldwide, making
it the most rapidly growing cardiovascular disorder.
In addition to ICDs, Dr. Kanner and electrophysiologists at South Nassau’s Center for
Cardiovascular Health use an array of advanced technologies to provide timely, accurate
diagnoses and therapies to treat the range of cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) and
defibrillator maintenance. Services include diagnostic studies, implantation and testing of
pacemakers, and radiofrequency catheter ablation for the treatment of potentially fatal irregular
heartbeats.
The center performs a wide range of coronary and peripheral interventional procedures,
including balloon angioplasty, stenting, and thrombolytic therapy. When providing balloon
angioplasty in an emergency, the center averages a door-to-balloon-time of approximately 68
minutes, which is 22 minutes faster than the medically recommended door-to-balloon time
benchmark of 90 minutes. The center’s staff also includes specialists in non-invasive general
cardiology.
Imaging specialists at the center are well-versed in nuclear cardiology (which generates
images of the heart at work, during exercise, and at rest), echocardiogram via the trans-thoracic
method (a non-invasive, highly accurate and quick assessment of the overall health of the heart
in which a probe is placed on the chest wall of the patient to produce images of the heart), and
transesophageal echocardiogram (which uses a specialized probe containing an ultrasound
transducer at its tip that is passed into the esophagus and is used to provide clear views of areas
of the heart that would be difficult to view transthoracically). The center’s cardiac imaging
services also include stress echocardiogram (which involves exercising on a treadmill or
stationary bicycle while the patient is monitored by technology using high-frequency sound
waves that produces a graphic outline of the heart's movement, valves, and chambers) and
diagnostic peripheral vascular ultrasound (noninvasive diagnostic technique used to evaluate the
health of blood vessels) for patients with peripheral arterial disease.
South Nassau Communities Hospital is a recipient of the American College of
Cardiology (ACC) Foundation’s National Cardiology Data Registry (NCDR) ACTION
Registry–Get With the Guidelines (GWTG) Gold Performance Achievement Award. The

3. GWTG program is a quality-improvement program that helps hospitals provide cardiac and
stroke care in accordance with the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. Hospitals
that continually meet or exceed the nationally accepted standards, or guidelines, improve their
quality patient care by turning guidelines into “lifelines”. Upon meeting specific criteria,
hospitals are recognized for performance achievement if at least 85 percent of their cardiac or
stroke patients are treated and discharged according to the American Heart
Association/American Stroke Association’s guidelines and recommendations.
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® Perfexion 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 recognized as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by
the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. For more information, visit
www.southnassau.org.
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