Just months after receiving USA FDA approval for its SuperSaturated Oxygen (SSO₂) Therapy for heart-attack treatment, Californian company TherOx has been acquired by Zoll Medical for an undisclosed sum.

Clinical trials have shown that SuperSaturated Oxygen Therapy (SSO₂ Therapy) reduces the size of myocardial infarcts in the regions of the heart-muscle perfused by the patient’s left anterior descending coronary artery immediately following stenting.

Results of VEST, the first randomized, multi-center trial of Zoll's LifeVest wearable cardioverter defibrillator for prevention of sudden cardiac death following a heart attack, missed its primary endpoint, a reduction in sudden cardiac deaths. However, patients randomized to LifeVest had lower overall risk of mortality than the patients randomized to standard medical therapy. The conflicting results triggered a lot of discussion among cardiologists online.

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's decision that US FDA regulations pre-empted a product liability suit against Zoll Medical. The suit was filed by the son of a woman who allegedly died after her Zoll LifeVest external defibrillator malfunctioned.