LANGHORNE, Pa., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Mary Medical Center is among the first centers in the nation to have implanted an internal cardiac defibrillator (ICD) with an innovative early warning system to help avoid complications of congestive heart failure. On January 27, a 72-year-old man successfully underwent the first procedure of this kind in Bucks County.
Congestive heart failure (CHF) affects some five million Americans and accounts for roughly one million hospitalizations annually. CHF results when a weakened heart is unable to pump blood effectively, leading to fluid buildup in the lungs, other organs, and extremities. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fatigue, weight gain, swelling of the legs and reduced exercise capacity. By monitoring “at-risk” heart patients for thoracic (chest) fluid retention, doctors will be better able to prevent serious complications associated with CHF.
“Having this monitoring system available in an ICD at St. Mary will offer this advanced diagnostic tool to people who have a history of an abnormal electrocardiogram (EKG), prior heart damage or congestive heart failure,” said Bradford C. Sodowick, M.D., director of electrophysiology at St. Mary Medical Center. “Once implanted, the device not only improves a patient’s heart muscle function and congestive heart failure symptoms but also becomes a non- invasive tool that will help reduce the incidence of CHF. It also provides data to help us in adjusting treatment regimens, which is an important benefit. Before, fluid buildup might have gone undetected until a patient became seriously symptomatic. We now have a new way to identify the problem and adjust medical treatment before hospitalization becomes necessary.”
The “InSync Sentry” system, produced by Minneapolis-based Medtronic Inc., is the world’s first implantable medical therapy device offering automatic fluid status monitoring in the thoracic cavity. The United States Food & Drug Administration approved the system in November 2004.
The breakthrough feature that makes fluid measurement possible is called OptiVol(TM) Fluid Status Monitoring, which measures changes in impedance. Using very low electrical pulses that travel across the chest area, the system can measure the level of resistance to the electrical pulses, which indicates the level of fluid. Since normal fluid levels may vary from patient to patient and fluid accumulation can be either slow or rapid, OptiVol’s ability to measure fluid status trends over time can provide important insights in conjunction with ongoing monitoring of other patient symptoms.
OptiVol is incorporated into a device called a bi-ventricular ICD pacemaker and cardiac resynchronization therapy, which received FDA approval in 2002, and has been used in patients throughout the country since that time.
St. Mary anticipates that a patient-interactive feature that will produce an audible beep to indicate fluid buildup may be available later this year pending FDA approval.
Medtronic selected St. Mary as one of the first centers in the United States to conduct this procedure based on St. Mary’s record of excellence and sophistication in the medical specialty known as electrophysiology. St. Mary performs more than 1,100 electrophysiology procedures each year.
St. Mary was also the first facility in Bucks County to perform a bi- ventricular pacemaker implantation in its electrophysiology laboratory. This procedure significantly improves the condition of patients whose heart cannot pump sufficient blood.
“It brings a special importance to our staff at St. Mary,” noted Dr. Sodowick. “It underscores the potential value this technology can have in improving life for thousands of patients, and is reflective of our commitment to provide the highest level of care. This is a key development for residents of Bucks Country, and certainly a positive breakthrough for those suffering congestive heart failure.”
About St. Mary Medical Center
St. Mary Medical Center was named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals(R) in 2004 for the second consecutive year by Solucient, a leading source of health care information. Licensed for 327 beds and in the middle of a major expansion project, St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne is the most comprehensive medical center in Bucks County. With a staff of nearly 500 physicians and more than 2,000 employees committed to providing excellence in patient care, St. Mary offers up-to-date technology, including a comprehensive cardiovascular program, the only state-accredited Trauma Center in Bucks County, a Primary Stroke Care Center, specialized diagnostic capabilities, obstetrics, exceptional surgical services, including orthopedic joint replacement and rehab, and the St. Mary Regional Cancer Center, which is part of the Fox Chase Cancer Network.
http://www.stmaryhealthcare.org/
St. Mary Medical Center
CONTACT: Kathleen Smith of St. Mary Medical Center, +1-215-710-2090
Web site: http://www.stmaryhealthcare.org/