RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its
ongoing commitment to provide exceptional care for patients with
heart disease, Marc R. Katz, MD,
MPH, cardiac surgeon and chief medical officer of the Bon Secours
Heart & Vascular Institute implanted the first HeartMate 3 left
ventricular assist device on August 18,
2015. The patient was selected as part of the prestigious
MOMENTUM 3™ Clinical Trial. Bon Secours is one of 60 elite centers
in the United States—and the first in central Virginia—chosen to
evaluate the Thoratec® HeartMate 3™ Left Ventricular Assist
Device (LVAD), a new advancement in mechanical circulatory support
(MCS) for people with advanced heart failure.
The HeartMate 3 LVAD is an implantable mechanical device that
helps circulate blood throughout the body. Sometimes called a
"heart pump" or "LVAD," it is designed to supplement the pumping
function of the heart for patients whose hearts are too weak to
pump blood adequately on their own. The new fully magnetically
levitated (Full MagLev™) flow technology is designed to lower
adverse event rates. The HeartMate 3 is smaller in size than its
predecessor, HeartMate II®, which enhances ease of surgical
placement and allows for patients of a smaller size to benefit from
the technology. The MOMENTUM 3 trial, which is expected to enroll
more than 1,000 patients nationwide, is designed to evaluate the
performance and safety of the HeartMate 3 at six months of LVAD
support in patients with advanced heart failure.i
"We are very honored to be the only stand alone mechanical
circulatory support program in the nation chosen to be part of the
MOMENTUM 3 Clinical Trial," said Dr. Katz. "The HeartMate 3
represents the latest generation of LVAD technology and offers
several refinements, such as a smaller size and more modular drive
line, that will benefit the lives of these critically ill patients
for a longer period of time. This is a huge advance in heart
failure care."
Nearly six million people in the U.S. are afflicted with
congestive heart failure. Of these, more than 250,000 are advanced
cases with an annual mortality rate of 80 percent.
According to Dr. Katz, patients who undergo the LVAD procedure
experience a dramatically improved quality of life because an LVAD
can pump blood throughout the body as well as a healthy heart can.
"An LVAD restores circulation and improves the efficiency of other
organs that had been adversely impacted by diminished blood flow,"
he commented. "In fact, an LVAD is often a permanent fix for a
patient suffering from severe heart failure or it can be a
successful bridge to a heart transplant if that is deemed
necessary."
"Selection for the highly esteemed MOMENTUM 3 Clinical Trial is
a testament to the quality comprehensive care that Dr. Katz and his
team demonstrate each and every day at the Heart & Vascular
Institute," said Toni Ardabell, CEO
of Bon Secours Richmond Health System. "It's so exciting that the
Institute is being recognized nationally and even internationally
for their commitment to embrace innovative advancements in medical
procedures and to provide an extraordinary level of compassionate,
patient-centered care."
Dr. Katz is especially proud that the HeartMate 3 LVAD joins
several other advanced therapies, such as the MitraClip heart valve
repair procedure and the CoreValve EVOLUT R System, now available
at the Bon Secours Heart & Vascular Institute. "Cardiac
patients don't have to travel long distances to get the skilled
care that they need and deserve for heart disease, because it's
right in their own backyard," he concluded.
About Bon Secours Virginia Health System
Bon Secours
Virginia provides good help to thousands of Virginians through a
network of hospitals, primary and specialty care practices,
ambulatory care sites and continuing care facilities across the
Commonwealth. The not-for-profit health system employs more than
12,500 people, including nearly 800 providers as part of the Bon
Secours Medical Group.
The fourth largest and only faith-based health system in
Virginia, Bon Secours Virginia
offers a full range of services including cardiac, women's,
children's, orthopaedics, oncology, neurosciences and surgery at
eight award-winning hospitals.
- Bon Secours Richmond is St. Mary's Hospital, Memorial Regional
Medical Center, Richmond Community Hospital, Rappahannock General
Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center.
- Bon Secours Hampton Roads is Maryview Medical Center, DePaul
Medical Center and Mary Immaculate Hospital.
About Bon Secours Virginia Health Care Foundation
The
Bon Secours Virginia Health Care Foundation raises charitable funds
to help Bon Secours Virginia Health System address the community's
growing health care needs with compassion and excellence. Through
charitable support, we are dedicated to helping create healthy
communities, advancing clinical innovation and providing an
extraordinary experience of care. For more information on giving,
visit www.bsvaf.org.
About HeartMate 3
The Thoratec HeartMate 3 LVAS is an
investigational chronic mechanical circulatory support (MCS) device
intended for a broad range of advanced heart failure patients.
HeartMate 3 is designed to restore blood flow, improve survival,
functional status, and quality of life. The device is being
evaluated for use as a long-term support option (years) for
patients who are not candidates for cardiac transplantation (also
known as Destination Therapy). It is also being evaluated for
short-term support options (months) for patients awaiting
transplantation (Bridge to Transplantation).
_____________________________
iU.S. Caution: Investigational Device.
Limited by Federal United States law to investigational
use.
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SOURCE Bon Secours Virginia Health System