Quarter after quarter, there is a wait for some news that the worldwide cardiac rhythm management market is stabilizing.

It seems that the industry is finally there. After reviewing most of the major device makers' first-quarter results, Glenn Novarro, a senior analyst with RBC Capital Markets, believes that the worldwide cardiac rhythm management market will be in better shape this year with a decline of only around 2%, an improvement from 2012 when it fell 5%.

The reason for that is a combination of procedure volume stabilizing and pricing pressures subsiding a bit. The implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) market will end the year 1% down.

"Our estimate reflects ~2% y/y U.S. ICD market volume growth offset by ~3–4% pricing declines," Novarro wrote in a research note Wednesday. "We model ~3% volume growth in the international ICD market, with ~3–4% pricing declines."

In this improving scenario, which companies and products could gain market share?

Novarro believes the Boston Scientific is well positioned to gain share in the ICD market if it can manage its supply-chain challenges related to its subcutaneous ICD device that has no leads in the heart. Overall in the CRM market, Novarro estimates that Boston Scientific will maintain share, Medtronic gain share while St. Jude Medical will give up share.

-- By Arundhati Parmar, Senior Editor, MD+DI

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