Breakthroughs in diagnosing and treating heart disease that promise to save thousands of patients’ lives have been announced in recent days. These advances mark real progress against America’s number 1 killer. One million Americans die each year from heart disease. Advanced implantable defibrillator technology cuts deaths by 30% in patients who have had a heart attack, new study finds.
Results of the study, announced Nov. 20, showed the dramatic, life-saving benefit of advanced implantable defibrillators in a whole new group of patients who typically receive conventional drug treatment. According to lead investigator Arthur Moss, M.D., from the University of Rochester Medical Center, “implantable defibrillators reduced mortality by 30%.” The defibrillator was shown to be so dramatically superior to conventional treatment that the study’s independent safety monitors halted the study early.
Implantable defibrillators can monitor heart rhythms and treat dangerous, irregular heart beats with a mild electrical current. Recent advances in the technology have enabled Vice President Richard Cheney and many others to receive implantable defibrillators in a one-day, outpatient procedure.
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Breakthrough heart assist device shows promise as a life-saving alternative to heart transplant.
Results of a landmark study published earlier this month showed heart assist technology can double the one-year survival rate of patients with severe heart failure. The heart assist device is implanted in the abdomen and connected to the heart via conduits to support the heart’s natural pumping function. The device is powered by a wearable battery pack, allowing patients to remain fully mobile.
“The findings offer new hope to an estimated 100,000 patients each year who aren’t eligible for a donated heart, but whose illness leaves them so debilitated they are short of breath while sitting in a chair,” the Wall Street Journal said Nov. 13. Congestive heart failure claims 47,000 lives each year.
Researchers also are studying totally implantable replacement hearts that do not require an external power source. FDA recently approved an expansion of the first clinical trial of a totally implantable replacement heart to an additional five patients.
Blood test sets new standard for diagnosing heart attack, AHA says.
A new test for elevated blood protein levels could dramatically improve the diagnosis of life-threatening heart attacks. The test measures a protein called Troponin I, which is released by damaged heart muscle.
“It’s possible that the results of a troponin test could be used to identify people at risk for later, serious heart problems,” said Michael Kontos, M.D., Virginia Commonwealth University.
“The improved sensitivity of this test will allow us to better identify and risk-stratify patients for early therapy and thus improve outcomes,” added Sidney Smith, M.D., chief science officer at the American Heart Association.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK:
"Modern medicine continues to bring a revolution of hope and dignity into countless lives…Today, thanks to new surgeries, devices and drugs, and thanks to doctors and researchers behind them, millions of Americans with heart disease live vigorous, productive lives.”
-- President Bush, speaking at a medical conference in March.
“This is the most important clinical trial in cardiac medicine in the last two decades. It shows definitively that defibrillators can prolong lives in a huge group of Americans.”
-- Dr. Kelly Tucker, Orange County Heart Institute, commenting on results of implantable defibrillator study in Nov. 22 Los Angeles Times
