Erlanger announced the hospital’s first successful implant of the world’s first FDA-approved heart failure device to use neuromodulation – the power of the brain and nervous system – to improve the symptoms of patients with systolic heart failure. This therapy was designed to treat heart failure patients who may not be receiving adequate symptom relief from medications alone.
This first-in-Chattanooga procedure was performed by Dr. Larry Shears, chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and the cardiothoracic surgery team at Erlanger Heart and Lung.
Officials said, "Unlike other heart failure device therapies, this device contains no hardware in the heart or vasculature.
It works by electrically stimulating baroreceptors – natural sensors located in the wall of the carotid artery – that tell the nervous system how to regulate heart, kidney and vascular function. These effects reduce the heart’s workload and help it pump more efficiently, helping to restore balance to the autonomic nervous system and improve the symptoms of heart failure. This device, plus heart failure medications has been shown to improve exercise capacity, and quality of life helping patients return to their daily activities."
“Part of the body’s natural response to heart failure is to send the sympathetic nervous system into overdrive. This can have detrimental effects on how the heart can function. This device prevents this neuro hormonal system from impairing the heart’s ability to function. Our team of physicians at Erlanger are excited to be able to offer this technology and to improve the quality of life for the patients in our region,” said Dr. Shears.
Officials said, "As the region’s only academic heart program, our cardiologists and cardiac surgeons train tomorrow’s specialists," officials said. "This teaching focus enables us to offer the latest breakthroughs and research trials to treat the region’s highest-risk patients. As our many heart-care firsts attest, we not only use cutting-edge technology, but we help develop it.
"Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. Essentially, the heart can’t keep up with its workload. People with heart failure often experience shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling in lower extremities, weakness, and the reduced ability to perform physical activity. In the U.S., heart failure is estimated to affect 6.9 million adults and is expected to increase by 24 percent to nearly 8.5 million by 2030. Overall, heart failure is associated with a four-fold increased risk of death and a six to nine times increased risk of sudden cardiac death."