Philips supports the American Heart Association’s efforts to raise awareness of cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) infections, promote guideline adherence, and improve patient survival rates

January 19, 2021 

• The American Heart Association’s multi-year initiative, supported by Philips, aims to bring forward the latest education and clinical data to increase awareness for providers and patients in the pursuit of guideline-driven CIED care
• Every year in the USA less than 30% of patients with CIED infections are treated properly in accordance with guidelines [1,2,3]

Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, is supporting the American Heart Association’s multi-year effort to generate awareness among cross-disciplinary specialties and improve survival rates from cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) infections.

With the support of Philips, the American Heart Association’s national CIED infection initiative will work with medical professionals across a variety of specialities to prevent and properly treat infections resulting from cardiovascular implantable electronic devices such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization devices.

Each year one million CIEDs are implanted worldwide [4] and one in 20 of these patients will develop a CIED infection [5] within three years. Support of efforts by the American Heart Association follows similar efforts by Philips, like its ‘No Infection Left Behind’ initiative, which aims to advance education for healthcare providers to help accurately diagnose CIED infections and deliver timely care.

Patients diagnosed with CIED infections are often treated with antibiotics, which is not an effective treatment option – 50-100% of patients treated with antibiotics alone will experience an infection relapse [6,7]. Clinical practice guidelines recommend extraction for all patients with a definite CIED infection, including complete device and lead removal. Too often, healthcare professionals lack awareness and experience in CIED infection management, increasing the chance of a missed infection diagnosis and prolonging inappropriate treatment. It is estimated that in the USA more than 7,000 CIED patient lives are at risk each year due to improper treatment. Yet complete CIED extraction is proven safe and effective, especially at an earlier stage of infection, which can reduce mortality rates [8,9] and long-term costs.