An implantable device used to manage heart failure has been successfully tested by a team from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center led by Dr. William Abraham.

The device showed promising results in its first trial, which focused on the efficacy and safety of the device in patients.

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"Heart failure is one of the fastest growing forms of heart disease and it's one of the most common reasons people are hospitalized," said Dr. Abraham, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center.

"The optimal drug therapies we have today often aren't enough to manage this disease for some patients, so we are always looking for new types of therapies."

Abraham and other cardiovascular researchers from across seven United States centers scrutinized C-Pulse, an extra-aortic counterpulsation system developed by Sunshine Heart, Inc.

The device is a cuff that surrounds the aorta, the biggest artery in the body, and synchronizes with the patient's heart beat, quickly inflating and deflating a small balloon to aid in pumping blood in the aorta to flow all over the body.

It's powered via a wire that exits the abdomen and connects to an external driver (either battery-powered or plugged in).

In the preliminary study, a group of 20 patients with New York Heart Association ambulatory functional class IV or functional class III heart failure were given the device. They were evaluated after six months and after one year.

The results from both time periods showed 16 patents had substantial improvements in the NYHA functional class.

"At the one year mark, three of the patients had mild or no symptoms of heart failure. They went from class III or IV down to a functional class I, effectively reversing their heart failure," Dr. Abraham said.

In addition, the patients were then capable of walking an average of a hundred feet farther in the standardized measures, and average quality of life scores improved by almost 30 points.

"Drug and device therapies that are currently available for heart failure improve that same quality of life score by only five or 10 points," said Dr. Abraham. "So, this is truly a significant improvement."

TagsHeart failure, C-Pulse, Heart, Aorta, Cardiology, New York Heart Association, Implant, Heart implant