ZOLL has launched the next-generation LifeVest wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) in the United States. It is the fifth U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved LifeVest WCD, which works seamlessly with the next-generation LifeVest WCD garment, which is billed as the most comfortable LifeVest WCD.¹

Backed by decades of innovation informed by patient feedback, LifeVest claims it continues to set the standard in the WCD market. LifeVest delivers highly effective, safe therapy for patients at risk of sudden cardiac death with the highest rates of WCD patient compliance based on peer-reviewed publications and real-world data.^2,3,4

“ZOLL is always innovating to ensure patients have protection from sudden cardiac death with a solution that seamlessly integrates into their lives outside of the hospital,” said Mike Blastick, president of ZOLL Cardiac Management Solutions. “The latest LifeVest represents the next step in our mission, combining advanced technology with patient-centered design.”

Advantages for Patient Safety and Interaction

The LifeVest WCD monitor features a patient-preferred streamlined design, based on extensive patient feedback and safety testing:

• The last three generations of the LifeVest WCD have incorporated response buttons directly into the monitor. The easy-to-reach buttons allow a conscious patient to delay an unnecessary treatment. In the recent SCD-PROTECT study of nearly 20,000 consecutive LifeVest patients, the inappropriate treatment rate was 0.5%—the lowest rate across WCDs in published clinical data.²
• The last two generations of the LifeVest WCD monitor feature a large touchscreen, allowing patients to easily interact with important system messages.
• These design choices, informed by decades of patient testing and experience, eliminate the need for a separate smartphone-type device. LifeVest is the only WCD that does not require an additional device for patients to interact directly with the system.

ZOLL’s latest launch exemplifies the way the company alleges it leads the WCD category:

• More clinicians and patients are choosing a LifeVest WCD today than ever before, with growing clinical evidence supporting the need for sudden cardiac death (SCD) protection for newly diagnosed heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction.⁵
• The next-generation LifeVest garment is preferred by patients for even greater comfort.¹ Built upon progressive advancements over the last five years, the LifeVest garment is designed to support patients in their daily lives outside of the hospital. Enhanced features include lightweight, athleisure-inspired performance-wear fabric, soft plush straps, flat-lock stitching, and the largest range of garment sizes, fitting chest measurements of 26 inches to 56 inches.
• ZOLL pioneered artificial intelligence (AI) for WCDs, with an AI-enhanced algorithm introduced in 2018 that reduced false alarms to a median of zero at 90 days.⁶ This latest generation LifeVest continues to incorporate an AI-enhanced algorithm.

More than two decades of engineering, patient feedback, and clinical evidence have shaped the most proven, patient-preferred LifeVest currently available, according to ZOLL.

• LifeVest is top-ranked in patient compliance at 23.4-plus hours/day based on peer-reviewed publications and real-world data.^2,3,4
• Incomparable safety: In a recent SCD-PROTECT study of nearly 20,000 consecutive patients, LifeVest delivered incomparable safety while protecting patients from sudden cardiac death due to VT/VF:
  • A 0.5% inappropriate shock rate— the lowest rate across WCDs in published clinical data.²
  • 99.7% of patients did not experience skin irritation requiring discontinuation.²
  • No deaths from VT/VF in patients wearing LifeVest.²
• Proven Efficacy:
  • LifeVest has delivered a more than 97% first shock success rate in clinical trials and real-world analyses.^7-10
  • LifeVest is the only WCD with 100% VT/VF conversion in a randomized control trial.¹¹

With more than 140,000 patients in clinical studies and well over 1 million lives protected, LifeVest is the most used, studied and proven wearable defibrillator, ZOLL bigwigs contend.

An Asahi Kasei company, ZOLL develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and cardiac monitoring, circulation enhancement and CPR feedback, supersaturated oxygen therapy, data management, ventilation, therapeutic temperature management, and sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment, ZOLL provides technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, as well as lay rescuers, improve patient outcomes in critical cardiopulmonary conditions.

The Asahi Kasei Group contributes to life and living for people worldwide. Since its foundation in 1922 with ammonia and cellulose fiber businesses, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through the proactive transformation of its business portfolio to meet the evolving needs of every age. With more than 50,000 employees worldwide, the company contributes to a sustainable society by providing solutions to the world’s challenges through its three business sectors of Healthcare, Homes, and Material. Its healthcare operations include devices and systems for critical care, products and services for the manufacture of biotherapeutics, and a growing portfolio of specialty pharmaceuticals.

Disclaimer: A controlled, head-to-head study evaluating the comparative performance of available WCD devices has not been conducted.

References
¹ Data on file, 20c1184_a01. Garment Comparative Wear Test.
² David Duncker, Eloi Marijon, Marco Metra, Olivier Piot, Marat Fudim, Uwe Siebert, Norbert Frey, Lars Siegfried Maier, Johann Bauersachs, Sudden cardiac death in newly diagnosed non-ischaemic or ischaemic cardiomyopathy assessed with a wearable cardioverter-defibrillator: the German nationwide SCD-PROTECT study, European Heart Journal, 2025;, ehaf668,  https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf668
³ Garcia R, Combes N, Defaye P, et al. Wearable cardioverter-defibrillator in patients with a transient risk of sudden cardiac death: the WEARIT-France cohort study. EP Europace. 2020;23(1):73-81. doi:10.1093/europace/euaa268.
⁴ Data on file, 90d0258_a01. 2021 Commercial Compliance Analysis.
⁵ Based on commercial data as of November 2025.
⁶ Arkles J, Delaughter C, D’Souza B. A novel artificial intelligence based algorithm to reduce wearable cardioverter-defibrillator alarms. J Interv Cardiac Electrophysiol. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10840-023-01497-w.
⁷ Chung MK, Szymkiewicz SJ, Shao M, et al. Aggregate national experience with the wearable cardioverter-defibrillator: Event rates, compliance, and survival. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2010;56(3):194–203
⁸ Kutyifa V, Moss AJ, Klein H, et al. Use of the wearable cardioverter defibrillator in high-risk cardiac patients: Data from the prospective registry of patients using the wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WEARIT-II Registry). Circulation. 2015;132(17):1613–1619
⁹ Data on file, 90d0241_a01. Report of AArD Performance during 2019.
¹⁰ Data on file, 90a0061_a01_revb. Clinical Evaluation Report for LifeVest Wearable Defibrillator, Model 4000, 2021.
¹¹ Olgin, J. E., Pletcher, M. J., Vittinghoff, E., et al. Wearable Cardioverter–Defibrillator after Myocardial Infarction. New England Journal of Medicine. 2018; 379(13): 1205–1215. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1800781