The new pacemaker regulates both sides of the heart, making them contract at precisely the same time. Inserting the pacemaker typically requires an overnight stay in the hospital. Participants return for follow-up one week and one month later and then quarterly for at least a year.
All participants continue to receive optimal heart-failure therapy throughout the study.
Guidant Corporation and Medtronics, which developed the devices, are sponsoring these studies. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient-care institutions in the nation. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC Health System.