New Treatment Option for Patients with Ischemic Heart Failure
Kansas City, MO (PRWEB) April 07, 2014 -- Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute cardiologists are participating in a clinical trial investigating a new minimally invasive cardiac implant which may offer new hope to patients with severe heart failure, for whom previously open heart surgery may have been their only option.
The investigational trial is focused on heart attack survivors with severe heart failure. Following a heart attack, the left ventricle of the heart (the main pumping chamber) may become enlarged leading to symptoms such as fatigue and shortness of breath. Eventually, the damaged heart muscle converts to stiff scar tissue, which results in pooling of blood in the tip of the heart. This leads to significant pressure build up inside the heart and causes significant strain on the remaining healthy heart tissue.
As part of the PARACHUTE-HF trial, Saint Luke’s interventional cardiologists will implant the Parachute Ventricular Partitioning Device in the left ventricle, where the device closes off the non-functional portion of the heart from the healthy, functioning portion. The device, which resembles a small inverted umbrella in structure, is ultimately covered by the body’s own tissue and becomes a permanent implant. The clinical trial will study the Parachute implant to determine if the device can slow the progression of heart failure, decrease repeat hospitalizations, and improve survival and quality of life. Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute cardiologists are scheduled to perform their first Parachute device implantation on Friday, April 4, 2014.
“The Parachute device is an exciting new option for patients who develop heart failure after a heart attack,” said Andrew Kao, M.D., heart failure and transplant cardiologist and principal investigator of the PARACHUTE-HF trial. “In the past, this type of treatment would have been possible only through open heart surgery. To be able to offer patients a minimally invasive treatment which takes less than 75 minutes to complete as opposed to major surgery is a significant advance.”
The PARACHUTE-HF trial is designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Parachute Implant in patients with NYHA Class III or IV heart failure due to ischemic heart disease. The device is implanted through the femoral artery in a procedure similar to angioplasty or stenting. The procedure is being conducted as part of a randomized clinical trial in which half of the patients will receive the device and the other half will remain on maximal medical therapy.
“Access to these potentially groundbreaking treatments and clinical trials is a tremendous benefit for our ischemic heart failure patients,” said Adnan Chhatriwalla, M.D., interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Disease Program at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute. “Especially for severe heart failure patients who are not ideal surgical candidates, this procedure offers a treatment option where previously there was none.”
The trial requires the expertise of interventional cardiologists, who are trained physicians technically adept at catheter procedures for treatment of heart disease. Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute boasts a long history of internationally recognized expertise in interventional cardiology. The program is among the world’s largest and frequently hosts workshops to educate cardiologists around the globe in leading-edge procedures.
Currently, Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute is the only center in the greater Kansas City area offering this experimental procedure.
For more information about the trial, visit http://www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/new-ischemic-heart-failure-treatment or call 816-932-0391.
Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute
Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, a member of Saint Luke’s Health System and a teaching affiliate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is one of the preeminent cardiovascular programs in the country. Its legacy of innovation began more than 25 years ago when it opened as the nation’s first heart hospital. Since then, the Heart Institute has earned a worldwide reputation for excellence in the treatment of heart disease, including interventional cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, imaging, heart failure, transplant, heart disease prevention, women’s heart disease, electrophysiology, outcomes research, and health economics. With more than 50 full-time board-certified cardiovascular specialists on staff, the Heart Institute offers one of the largest heart failure/heart transplant programs in the country, has the largest experience with transcatheter aortic valve replacement in the Midwest, and is a global teaching site for the newest approaches to opening challenging blocked arteries using minimally invasive techniques.
Laurel Gifford, Saint Luke's Health System, +1 (816) 932-2709, [email protected]
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