Royal Philips has announced its plans to collaborate with the American Heart Association (AHA) to boost awareness about cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) infections.
A majority of patients in the United States with CIED infections do not receive proper, guideline-approved care, a trend Philips and the AHA hope their efforts can address. The organizations plan to educate healthcare providers and patients through a multi-year effort that will highlight expert recommendations and take a close look at the latest research.
“CIED infection is a major public health problem with substantial morbidity and mortality,” Jonathan Piccini, MD, MHS, director of the cardiac electrophysiology section at the Duke Heart Center and chair of the AHA’s Get With The Guidelines-AFib quality improvement registry, said in a prepared statement. “Despite the tremendous impact of these infections on patients and their loved ones, potential life-saving guideline recommended care is infrequently applied.”
“By supporting the AHA, we have a significant opportunity to improve care for a large group of cardiovascular patients,” added Chris Landon, senior vice president and general manager of image-guided therapy devices at Philips. “At Philips, we want to support medical professionals and their efforts to follow guideline-directed care and decrease the complications and negative outcomes that too often follow CIED infections.”
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.