Health Spotlight | Breakthrough implant for heart failure
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — More than six and a half million Americans are living with heart failure.
In the next five years, that number will grow to eight and a half million people. It’s the leading cause of death for men and women. It’s a debilitating disease, leaving patients breathless, fatigued, confused, and in pain. Current therapies, devices and medications can be lifesaving, they do not improve the symptoms of heart failure — but now, for the first time, new technology will help.
“I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was seven,” says Jim Balala, who was riding his Harley when his journey took a sharp turn. They rushed to the hospital …
“They told me at that time that he probably was having a heart attack for about 13 hours,” says Kathy Balala, Jim’s wife.
After surgery, Jim was put into an induced coma for 12 days. Medications and a defibrillator kept Jim’s heart beating but left him with debilitating fatigue.
Cleveland Clinic’s Cardiac Electrophysiologist Niraj Varma, MD, PhD, states, “They don’t treat heart failure. Patients are still left with their symptoms. And the debilitation.”
Dr. Varma is leading a national study for Integra-D. Jim was the first person in the world to have an implant that combines two proven cardiac therapies into a single implantable device.
“It delivers cardiac contractility modulation as well as defibrillator therapy,” Varma said.
Cardiac contractility modulation works daily to improve the contraction of the heart — making it stronger and relieving symptoms, while a defibrillator treats life-threatening arrhythmias that cause sudden cardiac death. And unlike a traditional defibrillator that needs to be replaced every ten years the Integra-D will last 20 years.
“This is a game-changer in the world of implantable device therapies because it is rechargeable,” Varma said.
Within two weeks of getting the implant, Jim had twice as much energy and is now looking forward to a summer back on his bike.
The Integra-D clinical study is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the device. The clinical trial will enroll 300 patients from 75 centers across the US and those patients will be followed for two years.
This story was created from a script aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.