Tiny heart pump brings huge change
Karan Thakkar
Issue date: 11/30/09 Section: Pulse
Media Credit: www.dicardiology.netAbiomed's Impella 2.5 ventricular assist device draws blood from the left ventrical and pumps it into the aorta.
Whether it's advancing the national research agenda in a specialty such as transplant surgery or liver disease and cancer treatment, the University of Illinois at Chicago has always been one step ahead in the world of research. More recently, cardiologists at UIC began utilizing a newly FDA-approved device that was used to assist in three angioplasty procedures at the Medical Center last week. The device that they used was the AbioMed Impella 2.5 ventricular assist device, which has been used only about 1,000 times in the country.
Coronary angioplasty is a medical procedure in which a balloon is used to open up the blockage found in a coronary (heart) artery that has been narrowed by atherosclerosis (a stage of arteriosclerosis involving the accumulation fatty deposits inside the arterial walls, thus narrowing the arteries). This procedure works to improve blood flow to the heart (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Diseases and Conditions Index).
According to AbioMed, a pioneer and global leader in advanced healthcare technology and innovation, "The Impella 2.5 is a minimally invasive, catheter-based cardiac assist device designed to directly unload the left ventricle, reduce myocardial workload and oxygen consumption, and increase cardiac output and coronary and end-organ perfusion". The heart pump is one that can be readily inserted without surgery, which is something that optimizes its efficiency and makes it much more marketable compared to other aids. Also, since angioplasty is done on more than 1 million people a year in the United States, this tiny tool will end up making a big impact on medical treatment.
Dr. Adhir Shroff, assistant professor of cardiology at the UIC College of Medicine explains, "patients with the worst blockages are often the sickest, making it too dangerous to treat their coronary artery blockages with standard angioplasty or even with a bypass operation". Angioplasty is done by threading a thin, flexible tube, or catheter, into the coronary arteries through a small opening in a leg artery. News Wise reported that it is much less invasive than open heart surgery, but has been largely restricted to managing low- to middle-risk patients.
This utilization of the Abiomed Impella 2.5 ventricular assist device will make a local contribution to a national procedure, something UIC is used to doing by now.UIC is the largest university in Chicago and has been a leader in research growth for seven years to become one of the top 50 institutions in the nation receiving federal research funding (Brilliant Futures, UIC.edu).
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Coronary angioplasty is a medical procedure in which a balloon is used to open up the blockage found in a coronary (heart) artery that has been narrowed by atherosclerosis (a stage of arteriosclerosis involving the accumulation fatty deposits inside the arterial walls, thus narrowing the arteries). This procedure works to improve blood flow to the heart (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Diseases and Conditions Index).
According to AbioMed, a pioneer and global leader in advanced healthcare technology and innovation, "The Impella 2.5 is a minimally invasive, catheter-based cardiac assist device designed to directly unload the left ventricle, reduce myocardial workload and oxygen consumption, and increase cardiac output and coronary and end-organ perfusion". The heart pump is one that can be readily inserted without surgery, which is something that optimizes its efficiency and makes it much more marketable compared to other aids. Also, since angioplasty is done on more than 1 million people a year in the United States, this tiny tool will end up making a big impact on medical treatment.
Dr. Adhir Shroff, assistant professor of cardiology at the UIC College of Medicine explains, "patients with the worst blockages are often the sickest, making it too dangerous to treat their coronary artery blockages with standard angioplasty or even with a bypass operation". Angioplasty is done by threading a thin, flexible tube, or catheter, into the coronary arteries through a small opening in a leg artery. News Wise reported that it is much less invasive than open heart surgery, but has been largely restricted to managing low- to middle-risk patients.
This utilization of the Abiomed Impella 2.5 ventricular assist device will make a local contribution to a national procedure, something UIC is used to doing by now.UIC is the largest university in Chicago and has been a leader in research growth for seven years to become one of the top 50 institutions in the nation receiving federal research funding (Brilliant Futures, UIC.edu).
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