DaVita, Medtronic to study arrhythmia in dialysis patients

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and dialysis provider DaVita Healthcare Partners said they plan to team up to identify and study cardiac arrhythmia in patients undergoing dialysis.

The announcement comes on the heels of a Medtronic study showing a higher incidence of arrhythmias in certain hemodialysis patients.

The companies said they’re developing a pilot program that will use Medtronic’s Reveal LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitoring system to gather data on patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing dialysis.

“Given the high incidence rate of cardiovascular disease and events in ESRD patients, we believe that by collaborating with Medtronic, we can gain knowledge to help improve the lives of ESRD patients,” said Mahesh Krishnan, DaVita vice president for clinical innovation & public policy, in a statement.

“Through the collaboration we expect to utilize innovative monitoring technology and data from our DaVita kidney care information systems across the country. This effort is poised to improve the lives of patients by proactively detecting and preventing cardiac complications,” Krishnan added.

DaVita’s kidney care business operates or provides services at 2,152 dialysis centers in the U.S., covering approximately 170,000 patients. The company also operates 87 centers in 10 other countries.

Medtronic is in the midst of a mega-merger with Covidien (NYSE:COV). The $43 billion deal is expected to close early next year.