Cincinnati (Nov. 19, 2015) – Physicians from The Christ Hospital Health Network performed the first local procedure Monday using a revolutionary new heart pump to improve clinical outcomes for high-risk patients.
The HeartMate PHP cardiac pump safely provides normal blood flow to the heart during complex procedures involving high-risk patients, including those with advanced heart failure or who may be at risk of cardiogenic shock.
The HeartMate PHP pump was used Monday during a cardiac procedure led by Interventional Cardiologist Ian Sarembock, M.D., co-director of The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center and Executive Medical Director of the Heart and Vascular Service Line.
Thomas Broderick, M.D., an interventional cardiologist with The Christ Hospital Health Network, assisted in the procedure.
"Using a collaborative Heart Team approach to decision-making in this complex and high risk patient, we were able to safely and successfully perform the complex percutaneous intervention using a truly remarkable left ventricular assist device,” Dr. Sarembock said.
The Christ Hospital is participating in the clinical trial of the HeartMate PHP pump, one of more than 100 clinical trials currently underway at The Christ Hospital, which is only the fourth hospital in the country and the only hospital in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia or Michigan to offer the most advanced technology for heart support during complex angioplasty and stenting procedures.
James Kong, M.D., an interventional cardiologist with The Christ Hospital Health Network, is the Principal Investigator of the clinical trial.
"The use of this heart pump is a very significant development for patients who are high risk for angioplasty and who might not otherwise be treated," Dr. Kong said.
Developed by Thoratec Corporation, which was recently acquired by St. Jude Medical, Inc., of St. Paul, Minn., the HeartMate PHP is designed for patients undergoing complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, or PCI, a procedure to restore blood flow to the heart.
During PCI, the heart experiences interruptions to blood flow. The minimally invasive HeartMate PHP is placed via a catheter from the leg artery to temporarily assist the circulation and continuously pumps blood to the patient. Unlike traditional catheter-based support devices, the HeartMate PHP cardiac assist device can generate an average blood flow of four to five liters per minute, which is the normal amount of blood pumped out by the left ventricle of the heart.
"This technology makes the PCI procedure much safer and easier on the patient and is another example of how local patients greatly benefit by groundbreaking research being performed by The Lindner Center at The Christ Hospital Health Network," said Dean Kereiakes, M.D, medical director of The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center and The Lindner Research Center at The Christ Hospital.
To learn more about advanced heart care at The Christ Hospital’s Lindner Research Center, call 513-585-1777 or visit TheChristHospital.com/heart.
About The Christ Hospital Health Network: The Christ Hospital Health Network is an acute care hospital located in Mt. Auburn with five ambulatory centers and 181 neighborhood offices conveniently located throughout the Greater Cincinnati area. Its mission is to improve the health of the community and to create patient value by providing exceptional outcomes, affordable care and the finest experiences. Led by the region’s Most Preferred Hospital (National Research Corporation) for 20 consecutive years, the network is dedicated to transforming care by delivering integrated, individualized healthcare and wellness services through its comprehensive physician network and advanced specialty service. The Christ Hospital is among only 6% of hospitals in the nation to be awarded Magnet recognition for nursing excellence and among the top 5% of hospitals in the country for patient satisfaction. For more than 125 years, The Christ Hospital has provided compassionate care to all those it serves.
About The Lindner Research Center: For the past 25 years, The Carl and Edyth Lindner Center for Research and Education (Lindner Research Center) has provided leading-edge medicines and medical technology research covering a broad spectrum of conditions from obesity, diabetes, coronary disease, hypertension and hyperlipidemia to new vascular interventional devices, adult stem cell therapies, structural heart disease, cardiovascular surgery, heart failure and electrophysiology. Physicians at the Lindner Research Center have conducted more than 1,300 clinical trials including multiple first-in-man and first-in-the-U.S procedures, which have contributed to best practice standards for the care of patients. For information on current trials, please call 513-585-1777.