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February is Heart Month. No, not because Valentines Day falls midway through the month, but to raise awareness about heart health.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women. An average of 659,000 people die in the U.S. each year from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In addition, women are experiencing unacceptable and avoidable heart-related illness and death, and nearly half of U.S. women do not recognize that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, according to the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention. Heart-health disparities specific to women widen and deepen when combined with race, ethnicity, and other social factors.
As the need for quality cardiac care grows, along with the population of the Island, the Marthas Vineyard Hospital Cardiology Department has expanded its services over the years, with the number of cardiology visits to the hospital increasing from 209 service line visits in FY20, to more than 2,200 in FY22.
Offerings include EKGs, Holter Monitors-Mobile Cardiac Telemetry, cardiac rehabilitation, stress testing (including nuclear), echocardiograms, pulmonary function tests, vascular consults and testing, implanted cardiac monitoring devices, and more.
Dr. Aliya Browne, Medical Director of Cardiology at Marthas Vineyard Hospital, has been a provider at the hospital since 2020 and has been in practice for more than 20 years. Dr. Browne has expertise in treating heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, among other conditions.
In addition to the many cardiology services offered, last year at this time, the radiology department at the hospital launched a new screening process for cardiology patients. Known as Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA), the exam uses a CT scanner to detect the presence of coronary heart disease.
The importance of the CTA is that we can actually see the arteries, said Dr. Browne. The patients who have mild abnormalities on stress tests and some symptoms of concern, weve been sending them off-Island to get a simple CAT scan that we can now do here.
In partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital, the CTA is a less invasive way to detect potentially blocked arteries and other heart issues without the patient undergoing cardiac catheterization, which is similar to a surgical procedure and requires anesthesia, adding risk for the patient.
The CTA exams are part of the hospitals ongoing efforts to provide higher level tests for preventative care, Dr. Browne said, adding, Weve come a really long way in being able to support our patients.
The cardiology team at Marthas Vineyard Hospital includes two advanced practice providers and several specialty cardiology physicians from Massachusetts General Hospital, as well as expanded services to include advanced vascular studies, pacemaker implants, and heart failure clinics.
Heart Month is a reminder that heart disease is avoidable, even if you have a family history. Eighty percent of premature heart disease and strokes are preventable, according to Dr. Browne.
Lifestyle changes can have a large impact in preventing cardiovascular disease, or in keeping it from worsening. Experts recommend that you control high blood pressure, reduce cholesterol by avoiding foods high in cholesterol, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, and quit smoking.
For more information on cardiology services at Marthas Vineyard Hospital, visit mvhospital.org/services/cardiology.
Health Beat is sponsored by Marthas Vineyard Hospital. It informs and advises on health issues, shares health tips, and helps the community to become better acquainted with Marthas Vineyard Hospital, the physicians, and staff. For more information, visit mvhospital.org.
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Hospital doesnt miss a beat when it comes to cardiac care - Martha's Vineyard Times
Dr. Jason Schott is an interventional and structural cardiologist at Memorial Health System. He started working for Memorial in the summer of 2022. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
February is National Heart Month and Mid-Ohio Valley residents have a range of cardiovascular services they can receive in the area.
Memorial Health System offers minimally invasive procedures to treat a range of cardiovascular issues in patients in the Mid-Ohio Valley at its Marietta and Belpre locations. One of the doctors offering cardiovascular services at Memorial is Dr. Jason P. Schott.
Schott, 36, grew up in Noble County. In junior high school he and his classmates were studying the cardiovascular system and dissecting hearts. He always knew he wanted to help people. He started following surgeons after learning about the cardiovascular system, with Dr. Michael Sarap being the one he shadowed the most. Sarap was someone that Schott wanted to emulate.
Schott decided in high school he wanted to be a cardiothoracic surgeon based on his time with Sarap. Then he went to cardiothoracic perfusion school when he was in undergrad and then started shadowing Dr. Joe Mayo, an interventional cardiologist. This got him interested in interventional cardiology, Schott said about his journey becoming an interventional and structural cardiologist.
Schott went to medical school at Ohio State and worked in Columbus, Michigan and other locations. He left his home 18 years ago to get his training and start his career, but he always knew he wanted to come back, Schott said.
Dr. Jason Schott, an interventional and structural cardiologist at Memorial Health System, shows off a device used to perform a transaortic valve replacement. Memorial offers many minimally invasive procedures to treat cardiovascular issues using devices like it and others. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
Schott has worked in cardiology for seven years and started working for Memorial as an interventional and structural cardiologist approximately a year and a half ago in the summer of 2022.
Its good to be home, Schott said.
According to Schott, an interventional cardiologist diagnoses and treats mostly coronary artery disease, while a structural cardiologist diagnoses and treats mainly valvular heart disease and structural issues of the heart.
People in the area need to know that they do have access to care locally and that the cardiology department at Memorial can be liaisons to get the care they need, Schott said.
Schott and other cardiologists at Memorial perform procedures to fix cardiovascular issues. Many of these procedures are minimally invasive.
Schott said when babies are in the uterus there is a hole in the heart. This hole is called the foramen ovale and is a small flaplike opening between the upper chambers of the heart, the atria. As a baby grows the hole closes in 80% of people. In the other 20%, the hole does not close; this is called a patent foramen ovale. This does not cause an issue for most people, but it can allow blood clots to migrate, which can cause a stroke or other issues, Shcott said.
Cardiologists at Memorial, like Schott, can perform a minimally invasive procedure to fix this issue. The cardiologist puts a small camera in a patients vein, then uses a wire to get a device up to the patent foramen ovale. The device to fix the issue is deployed. It has disks that open on each side of the flap and they sandwich it. It takes six months for the hole to then seal off. Closing the patent foramen ovale lowers a patients risk of stroke, he said.
Cardiovascular disease in the Mid-Ohio Valley is very prevalent, Schott said.
Schott said this is due to tobacco use and genetic components. The cancer risk in the area is quite high also and probably from tobacco, genetics and environmental factors. People who receive radiation for cancer are at risk of cardiovascular disease.
Many cardiovascular issues are inherited but there are things people can do to lower their risk of cardiovascular issues. Schott stresses primary prevention, like smoking cessation, monitoring blood pressure, watching cholesterol and monitoring glucose.
Schott also said getting regular exercise is important for lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Baby steps, Schott said about how much exercise a person should perform. Whatever gets you moving.
According to Schott, people can also modify their diet to help lower their risk of cardiovascular disease too. People should fill up on vegetables, increase their fiber intake, eat fruit in moderation, limit carbs and eat whole grains as their carb source, and eat leaner meats like fish, chicken and turkey, and eat low fat dairy.
Schott is very proud of the cardiology team he works with at Memorial, he said.
I cant say this enough about our team, we treat people like our neighbor or our family. You cant care any more than our team does, Schott said.
Schott likes providing cardiovascular care and thinks that it is really rewarding.
Its a labor of love, he said.
To learn more about the cardiovascular services MHS offers, visit https://www.mhsystem.org/services/heart-cardiology-vascular-services/.
Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentinel.com
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Cardiologist on the beat for healthy hearts | News, Sports, Jobs - Marietta Times
Dr. Reema Sheth is no stranger to being the exception to the rule, especially when it comes to her career.
Shes an interventional cardiologist, a field in which fewer than 5% are women, according to a news release from Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, where shes been on staff for 18 months and is a member of the Heart Care Centers of Illinois practice.
I think I act who I am and have been very lucky to have found care centers who have a long history with the community, she said. I come to work, try my best, work hard, and feel like Im treated fine with the Heart Care group. The guys have been great. I enjoy going to work every day.
Sheth speculated her specialty draws few women because of its very nature, both the experience itself and the hours that result.
I think maybe because its more of a technical field with procedure, and when you go into internal medicine and cardiology, you focus more on the medical aspect than the technical aspect. So I think its more preference, or people cant choose when they have heart attacks because the hours can vary because of the unpredictability, she said.
Its not a strict 9 to 5 job. Procedures can be scheduled throughout the day, but emergencies can happen any time.
Her father and sister also are in the medical field both are psychiatrists but she chose a different path.
Im the odd one out, Sheth shared. But they are very supportive. Interventional cardiology has different hours, so I was lucky to have a family that was celebratory and supported my accomplishments. I wouldnt be here without them.
Her interest in a medical career came about partly because of her familys careers but also thanks to her own experience as an infant with surgery to correct a heart defect she was born with.
I definitely went into my schooling with an open mind but always gravitated toward cardiology, she said. I just love working with the heart and working with my hands and doing procedures, so cardiology was a really good fit.
Sheth attended medical school at Michigan State University and completed her training in Michigan after earning her degree.
After medical school I did my internal medicine residency. Directly after that, I did my cardiology fellowship, and after that I went for a year of interventional training, doing procedures nonstop every day within the cardiac field.
She truly enjoys working as an interventional cardiologist.
Not only can I help prevent developing cardiovascular disease, but I help treat progression. I can help identify current disease, treat current disease and take it one step further where if its significant damage, I can treat the disease with a coronary stent and help make blood flow to the heart better, more efficient.
Cardiologys continual advances also make Sheths job fulfilling, such as a trans-radial approach for cardiac catheterizations, performing coronary angiograms through an artery in the wrist.
Thats another great thing about cardiology as a field ever progressing with technology with approaches to not only get the best outcomes and the best care. Its a more convenient way for the procedure to be performed through the wrist rather than your groin, she explained. Its more comfortable for the patient after the procedure, plus less rest time and less risk of bleeding because of the small size of the artery as opposed to the groin.
Sheth, who is board-certified in internal medicine, reading cardiac echocardiograms, cardiac nuclear stress tests, general cardiology and interventional cardiology, is just starting to provide presentations and training to others.
Ive only been in the area for about 18 months, so now that Ive gotten my feet on the ground, Ive started to do more for the community. Im open to giving more lectures when the opportunity arises, she said. I have helped train female interventional cardiologists at one of the hospitals that I cover. I offer any guidance that I can.
The cardiologist gave a presentation Feb. 20 to theLincolnway Area Business Womens Organization in New Lenox that focused on women and heart disease, and a program for the community on preventing heart disease is planned Feb. 28 at the Silver Cross Conference Center in New Lenox.Registrationis required. Both are provided as part ofAmerican Heart Month.
More than 140 people signed up for the program Feb. 28, which Sheth called exciting.
Were focusing on general cardiac prevention and general cardiovascular care. Im hoping to keep it educational but also open conversation with questions, she said. It will be me presenting PowerPoint slides but will be broad-based points for general discussion to keep the flow of what were talking about. Sometimes I feel like we know the general idea of being healthy but not the specifics.
She said those specifics are important because the leading cause of death in the United States is heart disease, so as much education as we can get out there only helps in the long run.
Even for women specifically, its the leading cause of mortality in the U.S. Specifically with women, there are document studies that they are underrepresented. There are conditions in women that they may not be aware of, Sheth explained. Symptoms can be unique more commonly to women than men. All that information is paramount for women to know.
In-person presentations are important to provide correct information, she believes. It may not be the typical thing presented online, she said. You might not get that information just Googling online.
Additional information about heart health can be found by viewing or listening to Seths episode of Silver Cross iMatter Health podcast titled Is Heart Disease Genetic or Environmental? via the hospitals YouTube channel or a podcast platform.
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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On Thursday, Feb. 22 Upson Regional Medical Center hosted the Heartbeat of Upson celebration to share successes and enhancements of the hospitals cardiology services, including the full-serve cardiovascular catheter laboratory.
CEO Jeff Tarrant welcomed all attendees, giving thanks to the organizations board of directors, as well as staff members who made the celebration happen. Following his welcome, he introduced Ed Searcy for an invocation.
URMC, with 115 licensed beds, serves an eight-county region in middle Georgia and is the only hospital for six of those counties. Tarrant said the service area is described as an older population and Upson has the oldest population within the public health district.
Cardiovascular disease is quite a problem within our population, Tarrant stated. In fact, Upson County itself has the second highest cardiac death rate on a per capita basis of any county within the State of Georgia, adding that the statistics cover a date range through 2019j. We will get some updated numbers soon, and we are anxious to see those numbers during the coming years based on the investment we have made and the resources to help reduce that.
In 2016, URMC opened its first diagnostic catheter laboratory, but no treatment was available through URMC at the time, due to state guidelines.
In 2019, hospital officials began studying the population and found significant numbers of cardiovascular disease, leading to a push for more services.
Although the COVID-19 outbreak created an additional barrier to cross, URMC continued to work with partners to introduce a full-service, full-spectrum cardiac catheter lab, opened in December 2020.
Director of Cardiology and Imaging Services Sue Mangum introduced the cardiology staff and providers, including Rajeev Pillai, M.D., FACC, FSCA, who provided a presentation of cardiology services. Additional providers include Joshua Donis, M.D.; Ryan Macwar, M.D.; Candice Young, NP-C; and Kaitlin Carmichael, RN-BSN.
Dr. Pillai, who is board certified in internal medicine, interventional cardiology, and cardiovascular disease, has performed high-volume coronary intervention procedures for more than 15 years.
Prior to URMC, one of the various positions he held was as director of the catheter laboratory at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center (a 400-bed hospital), and through his work in larger hospitals, he said he found no purpose.
This has been an incredible experience. I work with incredible people, he said prior to speaking on the variety of cardiology services offered at URMC.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming one life approximately every 34 seconds. Along with its related complications, cardiac disease is the number one reason why people in Upson County are hospitalized. At URMC, officials say they are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of all cardiovascular disorders.
Cardiology services offered at URMC include the interventional catheter laboratory, cardiac rehabilitation, the congestive heart failure clinic, pacemaker follow-ups, and pulmonary rehabilitation. Diagnostic services include inpatient/outpatient EKGs, echo cardiology services, coronary CT angiography, 128 slice CT, impedance cardiography, and stress tests.
Throughout the last three years, the URMC catheter laboratory has performed 913 diagnostic heart caths, performed 450 coronary interventions, including stents and angioplasties, and managed 108 major heart attacks.
Prior to a tour of the laboratory, residents Debbie McClain and Mike Mangum spoke about their experiences at URMC.
McClain, publisher of the Upson Beacon, spoke about how URMC saved her life when she needed a bypass procedure.
I felt like I was healthy and then I wasnt, she began. They could not figure out why my heartbeat was jumping When Dr. Pillai looked at my heart monitor, he ordered a heart cath, and it turns out I had a 98 percent blockage.
McClain commented that she also had instances at two other hospitals throughout the journey, and said, Theres no place like home. These people are top-notch Its incredible what we can do here and how dedicated these people are. Its scary to have heart problems but these are the people to go to.
While introducing her husband Mike, Sue Mangum added, Helping to start the cath lab took a personal turn for me about two months after we opened, when my husband became a guest.
Mike shared his story, detailing the ways he has prioritized his health since 1976, when he decided he would never want to have coronary bypass surgery.
Its a life extender, its a life saver, it enhances the quality of life, but I did not want it. Theres no fun in that type of procedure, he stated. So, I developed a lifestyle that would prevent that.
As he slowed down throughout the years, Mike described moving a mattress with another man when he just could not continue. Although he felt no pain, he said that he was out of breath and in shock. Once he stood up, he took an Aspirin, and scheduled a stress test for the next day.
Following the test, he had not made it home before doctors called him back to the hospital, and before the sun set, he had a stent implemented.
By nine oclock the next morning, I was back home, he stated. Because of the resources at the hospital, I was able to avoid bypass surgery and I was able to avoid going to Atlanta - two of the most important things in my life were managed by the resources here.
Related to the services provided, he concluded by saying, If you havent been through it, you cant appreciate just how good it is, how professional it is, how good the people are.
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URMC Hosts 'Heartbeat of Upson' Celebration | Lifestyle | upsonbeacon.com - upsonbeacon.com
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VahatiCor has announced the treatment of the first patient with the A-Flux Reducer system, an interventional treatment for patients with angina or chest pain.
The implant is placed in the coronary sinus and is designed to provide more blood flow to the ischaemic portion of the heart and improve patient symptoms and quality of life.
The first patient received the A-Flux reducer implant through the Special Access Program (SAP) of Health Canada. A prospective multicentre clinical study of the device is scheduled to begin enrolment this year.
We have many interventional or surgical revascularisation options for patients with advanced large coronary artery disease. However, a significant proportion still suffer from angina. The A-Flux Reducer could help to fill that therapeutic void. It was an honour to perform the first-in-human implant and the patient is doing great, said Jean-Michel Paradis, specialist in coronary and structural interventional cardiology at Quebec Heart and Lung Institute (Quebec, Canada), who co-treated the first patient.
The A-Flux Reducer system is a promising intervention with the potential to provide a predictable and low-risk treatment for a growing population of patients with angina symptoms that do not respond well to medicines and lifestyle changes, added Can Manh Nguyen, interventional cardiologist who co-treated the first patient with Paradis.
At VahatiCor, were driven to improve patient outcomes with solutions that provide rapid relief and long-term effectiveness. While many interventions are available to treat the blockages in the large coronary arteries, very few options exist for an even larger group of patients with microvascular angina, said Howard Edelman, CEO of VahatiCor. We are encouraged by the positive early clinical experience with A-Flux and are moving forward quickly to a larger study that will support the availability of the device for more patients.
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First patient treated using A-Flux Reducer interventional system for angina - Cardiac Rhythm News
Happy Holidays from the Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology Team Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology
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If you're over 40, make an appointment this year to get your heart checked.
Image Credit: andreswd/E+/GettyImages
February is American Heart Month, but you don't have to wait until then to show your heart some love.
Heart disease is still the leading cause of death in the U.S., per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), so it's important to stay on top of your heart health in any way you can.
We asked cardiologists what resolutions they'd like patients to make in regards to their hearts year. Here's what they said:
As with most New Year's resolutions, we start out super motivated in January with diet and exercise goals, then lose momentum as the days go by.
This year, try to be more realistic about your resolutions. This can set you up for consistent, long-term changes in your health, which will ultimately protect your heart in the long term, too.
Case in point: "Diets [and exercise] that begin in colder months fail more than those that begin in the spring," says Allan Stewart, MD, a cardiac surgeon in Miami, Florida. "A great New Year's resolution is to set modest, realistic goals from January to March, and then as you succeed, ramp up those goals in the spring."
For example, maybe a 10,000-step-per-day goal is unrealistic in the wintertime, so start with 5,000 per day and increase as the weather gets warmer.
Only 1 in 10 Americans eat the recommended amount of produce per day, according to the CDC.
But eating enough fruits and veggies reduces your risk of having (and dying from) heart disease and a stroke by up to 27 percent, per an October 2020 meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
One doable way to eat more produce? "Add a piece of fresh fruit to your breakfast and a side of veggies to lunch and dinner," says Karishma Patwa, MD, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology in NYC and contributor to LabFindDieter.
Another bonus: Eating more produce aligns with the Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to be beneficial for your heart, per the Mayo Clinic.
"The five major risk factors for heart disease high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, overweight and poor diet are often food-related," says Elizabeth Klodas, MD, FACC, a preventive cardiologist in Edina, Minnesota, and creator of Step One Foods.
"Changing your diet is especially powerful, but I'm not asking anyone to turn their life upside down," Dr. Klodas says.
Instead, plan to add one nutritious food and remove one not-so-nutritious food from your diet each day.
This could look like eating an apple a day and removing a can of soda each day (or whatever is applicable to your diet). While one day of change won't do much, sticking with this habit over the course of a year is very beneficial.
Dr. Klodas also mentions this two-per-day approach has helped people significantly reduce their "bad" LDL cholesterol within 30 days. This method was also supported by February 2020 research in The Journal of Nutrition.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend getting 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week for optimal health, per the CDC, which equals about 30 minutes of activity five days per week.
"If this amount feels daunting, you can try to break it into shorter bursts of exercise," Dr. Patwa says.
She recommends taking small, two- to three-minute walks every hour. If you spend eight hours of the day sitting at a desk, for example, that's about 24 minutes of walking a day almost at the goal. Plus, you'll be giving your body a much-needed break from sitting still.
Alcohol in any amount is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, according to a March 2022 study in JAMA Network Open.
If you've tried to commit to a "dry" January (where you don't drink alcohol for the month) and have missed the mark, know that this is the ideal year to do it, Dr. Stewart says. That's because "New Year's Day is a Monday," he says.
Many people see Monday as the day to start fresh and kick off healthier habits. In contrast, Dr. Stewart says when the day falls on a Friday or Saturday, it's more difficult to start dry January, especially because the New Year parties can keep going through the weekend.
If you feel you've overindulged in alcohol over the holidays (as many of us do), dry January can give you a break. Plus, it gives you a chance to reevaluate your relationship with alcohol.
Keep in mind: This means you may have to change up how you socialize with friends, so planning is key, Dr. Stewart says. And try to avoid counting down the days until February 1, he adds.
"It's important not to count down the days until January 31, as it somewhat defeats the purpose of the potential joy you could feel in the process, or the potential to stay sober [beyond January 31]," he says.
If the hectic holiday season left you even more sleep-deprived than you already were, let January be the time you get into a good sleep schedule.
When we're low on sleep, we tend to reach for "quick pick-me-ups like caffeine and sugar," Dr. Klodas says, which can lead to heart palpitations and other issues.
The American Heart Association suggests getting seven to nine hours of sleep per night, as well as getting treated for sleep disorders, such as insomnia, restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea.
To that end: "Non-restorative sleep, especially when due to sleep apnea, can be a major contributor to high blood pressure," Dr. Klodas says, which is a risk factor for heart disease, heart attack and other serious health conditions.
If you, your bed partner or someone in your household suspects you have a sleep disorder (because you snore, talk in your sleep or stop breathing during sleep), this may be the year to finally get a sleep study done and treat the problem.
Are you over 40? If so, Dr. Patwa recommends going to the cardiologist for a preventive screening.
This can help ensure your heart's working properly.
If your doctor has any concerns about your heart, they may run tests such as an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram or stress test, which are the best ways to pick up on heart disease, Dr. Patwa says.
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7 New Year's Resolutions for Heart Health From Cardiologists - Livestrong
December 26, 2023 Pulse Biosciences, Inc., a company primarily focused on leveraging its novel and proprietary CellFX Nanosecond Pulsed Field Ablation (nsPFA) technology for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, announced the completion of the first five procedures in its first-in-human feasibility study with its novel CellFX nsPFA cardiac catheter. All patients were successfully discharged by treating physicians. Patients will continue to be monitored and evaluated over the coming months to assess safety and effectiveness with the primary safety endpoint at 30 days.
Dr. Vivek Reddy, Director of Cardiac Arrhythmia Services at Mount Sinai Hospital, NY, and Dr. Petr Neuzil, Chief of Cardiology at Na Homolce Hospital, Prague, and colleagues used the Companys CellFX nsPFA 360 cardiac catheter integrated with 3D mapping and navigation technologies (iMap System, CardioNXT) to successfully treat five patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) at Na Homolce Hospital, a renowned research institution hospital in Prague, Czech Republic.
We have been collaborating with Pulse Biosciences to bring their novel nsPFA technology to the clinical realm, and are excited to report that our experience with these first five patients has validated our belief that this may represent the next generation of PFA technology for the treatment of AF, said Dr. Reddy. The results were consistent with our preclinical experience. Importantly, the speed and ease with which we were able to isolate the pulmonary veins with the nsPFA 360 catheter was impressive and all patients tolerated the procedure well. Now we look forward to completing enrollment in this study to fully assess the safety and durability of nsPFA treatment.
Pulse Biosciences CellFX nsPFA 360 cardiac catheter, which is still in the investigational stage, is uniquely designed to produce a nonthermal ablation, initially targeted for pulmonary vein isolation, using the Companys proprietary CellFX nsPFA energy in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. The catheter is designed to deliver a fast, transmural and fully circumferential ablation in a single energy delivery. The CellFX nsPFA cardiac catheter is integrated with 3D mapping and navigation to deliver a comprehensive visualization and precise ablation delivery solution.
Were honored to work with Dr. Reddy and his team and Prof. Petr Neuzil and his team at Na Homolce to bring our next generation nsPFA technology to the clinic. The unique value of nsPFA to deliver fast, precise, transmural and contiguous ablations in thick cardiac tissue is extremely exciting for the treatment of AF and we could not have found better partners, said Dr. Gan Dunnington, Chief Medical Officer, Cardiac Surgery of Pulse Biosciences. This initial clinical experience delivered as expected. We look forward to continuing our catheter clinical program and to starting our cardiac surgery clinical program with our surgical nsPFA clamp in 2024.
Kevin Danahy, President and CEO of Pulse Biosciences, having attended all patient cases, remarked on the recent milestone, As we embark on this new era of advancement in medical device technology, our mission is clear: to revolutionize healthcare with CellFX nsPFA, with the intention of significantly improving clinical outcomes for both patients and physicians. Through relentless innovation, unwavering dedication, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in bioelectric energy, we are reshaping the future of the treatment for atrial fibrillation with our cardiac catheter in electrophysiology and with our cardiac clamp in cardiothoracic surgery. CellFX nsPFA will empower doctors, inspire patients to seek life-altering treatment, and create a world where CellFX nsPFA technology can become a catalyst for healing and hope.
The Company expects to enroll up to a total of 30 patients in the current feasibility study. Treated patients will be evaluated at regular intervals to further assess the safety and effectiveness of the treatments. The Company expects to provide additional updates on the first-in-human procedures with the CellFX system in the upcoming months. Pulse Biosciences will inform stakeholders promptly if results differ materially from the stated expectations addressing safety and efficacy. The observations to date have been positive but the broad set of risks associated with cardiac surgery remain. The Company anticipates initiating the regulatory process with the U.S. FDA and appropriate regulatory authorities worldwide including Europe in the coming quarters and expects additional studies will be required.
For more information: http://www.pulsebiosciences.com
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