New heart failure treatment increases ejection fraction by 38% in 1st clinical patient

The first clinical patient to undergo a new, less invasive treatment for heart failure has been discharged from University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland and is recovering well, according to a press release from BioVentrix.

A Revivent TC Transcatheter Ventricular Enhancement System was placed in an ischemic heart failure patient using three small titanium anchors, which were pulled toward one another to remodel the left ventricle to a more normal shape and size. The 56-year-old male experienced a 59 percent reduction in left ventricular end systolic volume index and a 38 percent increase in ejection fraction.

BioVentrix has received CE mark approval for the device in Europe, but the technology is not for sale in the U.S. It is considered an alternative to open-heart surgery.

"This therapy provides a much-needed option for patients suffering from heart failure due to left ventricular anterior scar," Alberto Weber, a cardiothoracic surgeon who participated in the procedure at University Hospital Zurich, said in a statement.

"The LIVE (less invasive ventricular enhancement) procedure is a less invasive therapy which does not require the use of a heart-lung machine. This reduces the impact on the patient and lowers the risk. It expands the patient population that will be able to benefit from this procedure. Now, even patients previously thought to be inoperable can be treated.”