LOS ANGELES - March 17, 2020 - (Newswire.com)
Cardiologist Ernst von Schwarz, MD, performs the first implantation in California of the new Optimizer® Smart system for treating patients with chronic, moderate-to-severe heart failure. The FDA gave the Optimizer® Smart system a Breakthrough Device designation because it treats a life-threatening disease, heart failure, and addresses an unmet medical need in patients who fail to get adequate benefits from standard treatments and have no alternative treatment options.
The Optimizer® Smart System includes an implantable stimulation device (similar in size to a pacemaker) and an external charging station. The device is implanted in a small pocket under the skin of the upper chest, along with commercially available pacemaker leads that are placed in the heart’s ventricular septum, while the patient is under light sedation. After implantation, the physician custom-programs and activates the device for the patient. The Optimizer® Smart then begins sending electrical pulses to the heart muscle for a total of five hours a day, in one-hour treatments separated by regular intervals. The patient charges the device one hour per week using the external charger. Optimizer® Smart systems are expected to last for at least 15 years before requiring replacement.
"Most patients can return home soon after the implant is complete," says Dr. von Schwarz. "Plus, most patients are able to return to everyday activities shortly after the procedure."
Approximately over 6 million people in the United States suffer from heart failure, a condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. "The leading causes of heart failure are diseases that damage the heart, such as high blood pressure and diabetes," says Dr. von Schwarz. "Treatment for heart failure includes treating the underlying causes and reducing symptoms such as fatigue and swelling in the lower extremities that make physical activity difficult. Doctors may prescribe medications like angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers or beta blockers to lower blood pressure and reduce strain on the heart as well as diuretics to reduce fluid buildup in the lungs and swelling in the feet and ankles among other medications."
The Optimizer® Smart system is comprised of several components, including an implantable pulse generator, battery charger, programmer and software. After the device is implanted, a physician tests and programs the device, which delivers electrical impulses to the heart during regular heartbeats to help improve the heart's squeezing capability.
About Ernst von Schwarz, MD, Ph.D., FESC, FACC, FSCAI
Dr. Von Schwarz is board certified in Cardiovascular Diseases and Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. His primary clinical and research interests are end-stage heart failure, interventional cardiology, stem cell therapy and sexual function in cardiac disease.
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Original Source: Ernst Von Schwarz, MD, Performs the First Implantation in CA of the Optimizer® Smart System for Chronic Heart Failure
