First in State to Implant New Device for Heart Failure Patients

Dr. Kevin Fullin, Cardiologist and Medical Director of the DeBakey Heart Institute at United Hospital System was the first in the state of Wisconsin to implant an innovative, wireless-enabled cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator (CRT-D). The device is used to treat heart failure patients with abnormally fast and potentially life-threatening heartbeats (ventricular tachycardia) that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest. The device was implanted in a 52 year-old man .

The device helps track and manage heart failure symptoms. It also will deliver a shock to terminate a dangerously abnormal heart rhythm. The Concerto CRT-D device also sends tiny electrical impulses to the heart muscle to resynchronize the contractions of the heart’s lower chambers, helping the heart pump blood throughout the body more efficiently.

The Concerto (CRT-D) Virtuoso ICD is one of the first implantable cardiac devices available with Medtronic’s proprietary Conexus™ Wireless Telemetry, developed using the Medical Implant Communications Service (MICS, 402-405 MHz). Using the MICS band enables reliable communication between the implanted device and clinician programmers and patient home monitoring units.

Conexus Telemetry enables automatic, wireless data transmission from the patient’s device to a home monitor. Device data is then transmitted to the clinician using the Medtronic CareLink® Network, the first Internet-based system to help physicians and patients better manage chronic cardiovascular disease treated by implantable device therapy. Communication between device and monitor is initiated by physician-programmed device parameters or it can occur on pre-scheduled dates that are pre-programmed via the Medtronic CareLink Network. If the system detects notable changes in the patient’s condition or device status, a Medtronic CareAlert™ will be sent to the physician, providing the potential for treatment decisions before the condition worsens. In addition to remote care offered to patients, the device features several other innovative features to potentially improve the care of heart failure patients:

Using very low electrical pulses that travel across the chest area encompassing the heart and lungs, the system measures the level of resistance to the electrical pulses, indicating the level of fluid in the chest. Fluid accumulation is a primary indicator of worsening heart failure and often results in patient hospitalization. Since normal fluid levels may vary from patient to patient and fluid accumulation can be either slow or rapid, the ability to measure fluid status trends over time can provide important insights in conjunction with ongoing monitoring of other patient symptoms.

The automatic of pacing pulses to painlessly stop fast, dangerous heartbeats, while concurrently preparing to deliver a shock if needed, with no delay. This feature has been clinically proven to eliminate three out of four shocks with painless pacing therapy.

Heart failure afflicts 5 million Americans and is the number one cause of hospital admissions, with most of these admissions due to fluid accumulation in the chest. This fluid buildup often goes undetected until the patient is critically ill and it is not unusual for patients to require hospitalization or urgent treatment at an emergency room for severe respiratory distress. With approximately 1 million hospitalizations each year for heart failure, heart failure management is a tremendous cost burden to the country’s healthcare system.