New Device For Elderly With Heart Valve Failure - Less-Invasive Procedure For Those Previously Untreatable

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics;  Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 15 May 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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In the hope of reaching a formerly untreatable patient group, clinician-researchers from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center are leading the minimally invasive Phase II EVEREST clinical trial with the aim of treating malfunctioning heart valves in the elderly. Many elderly people are too old, too weak, or too debilitated by their disease to be candidates for traditional surgery to fix the problem, according to Dr. Arash Salemi, attending cardiothoracic surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, and assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Projections have estimated that by the year 2010, more than 50 million Americans will be over the age of 65. As many of these heart valve diseases occur in older age groups, more and more patients will be in need of therapy each year. And the proportion of high-risk/inoperable patients will also increase. The heart valves are trap doors that control blood flow between the chambers of the heart. With wear, they either become leaky or too tight. Symptoms of these conditions include shortness of breath and fatigue, and if left untreated, may often lead to death by heart failure or arrhythmia.

The new technique, already proven safe by a Phase I clinical trial in 2005, involves only a small incision through the skin in the groin. A small catheter is then guided up through the maze of the blood vessels of the circulatory system and into the targeted heart chamber. Then, a tiny metal clip is clamped into the area to stabilize the malfunctioning valve. This less-invasive method also means less morbidity and less recovery time - as little as a one-day stay in the hospital compared to the usual five days.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical College, the medical school of Cornell University. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research and community service. Weill Cornell physician-scientists have been responsible for many medical advances - from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, the first indication of bone marrow's critical role in tumor growth, and, most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally-conscious brain-injured patient. NewYork-Presbyterian, which is ranked sixth on the U.S.News & World Report list of top hospitals, also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion. Weill Cornell Medical College is the first U.S. medical college to offer a medical degree oversees and maintains a strong global presence in Austria, Brazil, Haiti, Tanzania, Turkey and Qatar.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Weill Cornell Medical Center