Cardiologists at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine in Columbus have become the first in the nation to use a new system to treat hospitalized patients with acute decompensated heart failure, or ADHF, the university said Nov. 2. ADHF is the sudden or gradual onset of heart failure symptoms.
The pulmonary neuromodulation system involves a stimulation console and minimally invasive catheter inserted via a vein in the neck and through the heart. The catheter is placed in the pulmonary artery to stimulate a nerve on the back of the heart. Stimulating this nerve can increase how strong and efficiently the heart is able to pump blood without increasing heart rate, early research indicates.
Ohio State's Sitaramesh Emani, MD, director of heart failure clinical research at the medical center and associate professor of cardiovascular medicine, led the procedure on a 65-year-old patient on Oct. 22 alongside Rami Kahwash, MD, director of the university's heart and vascular research and professor of clinical medicine.
"Currently, drugs are the main treatment for acute decompensated heart failure, but many have side effects that may limit benefit, especially for patients who are sicker or more complex," Dr. Emani said. "What's truly novel about this system is that it treats both the underlying problem and symptoms of ADHF."
The procedure was completed as part of a clinical trial at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.