U.S. Markets for Cardiac Rhythm Management Products

Cardiac rhythm disorders—also called arrhythmias or dysrhythmias—encompass a variety of common chronic conditions characterized by recurrent distortions in the electrical and contractile activity of the heart, which may result in clinically significant and progressive hemodynamic deficits and cardiopulmonary impairment that may ultimately lead to stroke or cardiac arrest.

Despite considerable advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology and progression pattern of cardiac rhythm disorders and improvements in the clinical management of acute and chronic arrhythmias, these conditions cumulatively afflict more than 8 million people in the United States (U.S.), accounting for more than 20% of all medical conditions treated by cardiologists. In addition, cardiac rhythm disorders represent a primary or secondary cause of death in nearly 500,000 people in the U.S. annually, prompting approximately 1.5 million hospitalizations and resulting in an estimated $35 billion in direct and indirect annual healthcare costs.

The following sections provide a general overview of the heart’s anatomy and physiology as well as an overview of cardiac arrhythmias and a summary of the device-based cardiac rhythm management (CRM) products market in the U.S. Antiarrhythmic drugs are beyond the scope of this report and are not included in the market analyses.