| 9/24/2007 |
| The International Heart Institute of Montana Evaluates Device That May Help Patients Avoid Open-Heart Surgery |
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The International Heart Institute of Montana at St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center is involved in a clinical research study evaluating an investigational procedure to repair the mitral valve without surgery.
This procedure is performed to reduce mitral regurgitation (MR), which is the leaking of blood backwards across the mitral valve, decreasing blood flow to the body. In addition, the procedure may relieve symptoms such as fatigue and shortness of breath that often affect patients with MR. Mitral repair with the MitraClip® device (from Evalve, Inc. of Menlo Park, CA) is the only percutaneous (through the skin) alternative to conventional open-heart mitral valve surgery being evaluated in a pivotal study today. Percutaneous mitral repair is a much less-invasive procedure than conventional mitral valve surgery and may result in fewer complications and shorter recovery times for patients because chest incisions and heart lung machines are not required.
There are 37 centers throughout the United States and Canada that are participating in the study. The International Heart Institute of Montana has been selected for this trial and is performing the only percutaneous mitral valve repair that is currently underway in a pivotal study in the U.S. “We have seen minimal rates of complications during the procedures. Furthermore, patients who achieve good results appear to maintain them,” said Tod Maddux, MD, one of St. Pat’s co-principal investigators for the study.
If MR is left untreated, the heart becomes damaged and eventually is unable to compensate, leading to congestive heart failure and death. To be a candidate for the investigational procedure, patients must have moderate/severe or severe MR and experience certain symptoms such as fatigue, chest pain, or shortness of breath. Lacking these symptoms, the patient must have a weakened left ventricle. For more information on becoming involved in this research study, please call 1-877-MY-MR-FIX or visit www.mitralregurgitation.org online. You may also contact Heidi Boehm at the International Heart Institute of Montana at (406) 329-2717.
For more details, download the Press Release.
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