Promising Breakthrough for Heart Failure Patients | San Diego Living

Sponsored by: Corvia Medical

The National Institutes of Health reports that more than 6.5 million people suffer from heart failure nationwide. And half of them have a deadly condition called HFpEF, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. The condition is often nicknamed huff-puff, as patients breathe normally at rest, but become immediately breathless with any exertion, even just standing up from a chair. Now a new medical device is offering hope for patients with this generally untreatable form of heart failure. Dr. Rajeev Mohan, Cardiologist at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, and patient Amy Vasquez join our Laura Cavanaugh to share more about this promising innovation and hope for patients with heart failure.

Nearly 60% of patients with HFpEF are women. And medications do not appear to help much. Dr. Rajeev Mohan says for those patients struggling with HFpEF, the left side of their heart cannot effectively pump blood out, causing it to back up into the lungs. This creates pressure that leads to the characteristic shortness of breath with minimal activity.

Treatment options for HFpEF have been limited. Without intervention, the prognosis for those with HFpEF is grim and the mortality rate is rising. Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla is one of just 65 hospitals worldwide currently participating in a groundbreaking clinical trial, testing an innovative solution, a small implantable device, an atrial shunt, designed to reduce pressure in the heart.

“This device is meant to help reduce the pressures in the lungs by essentially creating a connection between the left side of the heart and the right side of the heart. By decreasing the pressure in the left side of the heart and offloading some of that pressure, particularly with exertion, the theory is that we can decompress the lungs a bit and get patients breathing a little bit easier while they’re exerting themselves,” said Dr. Mohan.

The atrial shunt creates an opening in the heart wall to equalize the pressure between the left atrium and the right. Nealy 700 shunts have been safely implanted in earlier studies.

Back in 2016, Amy Vasquez, an architect from San Marcos, says she started experiencing shortness of breath walking her dogs and walking on the beach. She says it was difficult to climb stairs without gasping for air. After multiple medical appointments and tests, including an echocardiogram and a right heart catheterization with exercise, Vasquez was diagnosed with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, known as HFpEF.

“It’s kind of a scary diagnosis,” said Vasquez. “The longevity of somebody with this condition is only about five years without treatment. That alone just told me that I really needed to give this a try.”

Vasquez met the criteria for a clinical trial for an atrial shunt. She was admitted to a trial at Scripps and received a Corvia Atrial Shunt during an earlier clinical trial phase in 2020. Not long afterward, she says she noticed improvements. Vasquez was able to walk her dogs and make it to the top of the hill without stopping.

“Within a year, I went with my son to Mexico, swam with the dolphins and with the seals,” said Vasquez.

Now Vasquez says she’s back to an active lifestyle, walking on the beach, kayaking and enjoying traveling with her family.

“My life is completely changed from where it was when I had all of the symptoms from the heart failure,” said Vasquez.

Scripps La Jolla is hosting an Atrial Shunt clinical trial and is accepting new patients. Talk to your cardiologist and ask if an atrial shunt study may be right for you.

Learn more about this investigational therapy, benefits and risks at www.treatmyheartfailure.com

Sponsored by: Corvia Medical