Saxon, who presented findings at the American College of Cardiology meeting in March, said preliminary data indicate that this technology can not only resynchronize the heart, but also support slow heart beats, detect abnormal beats before they become a significant problem, help heart failure physicians manage medications and even prevent sudden death. In an outpatient procedure, the device is placed under the skin near the shoulder. Physicians insert three electricity-delivering wires into a vein near the collarbone. Two wires are guided to the right ventricle of the heart, just as in a pacemaker implantation. The third wire, the new innovation, goes to the left ventricle and helps the two ventricles beat together.
Heart failure is different from a heart attack.
Deprived of oxygen, patients with failing hearts often feel light-headed or faint and ultimately find it difficult to walk even a short distance. Only half of patients with mild to moderate heart failure survive for five years and only half of patients with severe failure survive for one year, she said, adding that, after medications have failed, their only option is to wait for a transplant. The multi-center clinical trial to test devices will enroll up to 2,200 patients in at least 80 medical centers across the United States and is expected to take three or four years to complete. Founded by Saxon and De Marco, the approach combines basic clinical research, medical device and surgical therapies, prevention, and treatment, and serves as a prototype and central hub for similar sites being developed across the United States. The grant will also support the center's efforts to train future generations of physicians who will care for heart failure patients.