The Record Special Sections Health Quarterly 02-17-2019 | Seite 12

12 ❚ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2019 ❚ THE RECORD
HEALTH QUARTERLY / ADVERTISING SECTION
Hackensack University Medical Center
Is the Heartbeat of Cardiovascular Care
C
ardiovascular
Disease is a prob-
lem of extraordi-
nary magnitude
and is the most common
cause of death for men
and women in the United
States. New technologies
in use at the Heart and Vascular Hospital
at Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack
University Medical Center are revolution-
izing the ability to treat heart disease and
further reduce morbidity and mortality.
One revolutionary device in use by the
Heart and Vascular Hospital is a percutane-
ous ventricular assist device (PVAD) called
the Impella ® Heart pump. It’s a small, cath-
eter-based heart pump that gives short-
term support for the heart. It’s typically
used to give the heart time to recover and
after an acute heart attack or cardiogenic
shock.”
Dr. Anderson is a leading expert in
minimally invasive heart surgery and
mechanical assist devices. According to Dr.
Anderson, 125 PVADs were implanted in
patients at Hackensack University Medical
Center in 2018. One of the patients who
received the device was Carlos Azor of
Lodi. One morning in February of 2018,
Carlos was having difficulty breathing and
sought treatment in the Emergency and
Trauma Center at Hackensack University
Medical Center. He was treated by Irfan
Admani, M.D., FACC, a coronary interven-
tionist at the Heart and Vascular Hospital.
“Mr. Azor came in as a case of cardio-
genic shock,” recalls Dr. Admani. “He had
low blood pressure and shortness of breath.
The EKG showed significant ischemic
changes and he was imme-
diately taken to the cardiac
catheterization laboratory
for additional testing.”
“They took me to the
Cath Lab and saw my
ejection fraction was 10
percent, far below the 60
to 65 percent ejection frac-
tion of a normal heart,”
recalls Carlos. “The doctor
said I needed surgery right
away because I had four
blockages and I could die. I
was in total disbelief.”
Dr. Admani told Carlos
he needed to have a qua-
druple bypass in order
to save his life. Doctors
Dr. Irfan Admani is pictured with his patient, Carlos Azor, determined Carlos was
one of more than 100 patients at Hackensack University a candidate for a PVAD,
Medical Center who received an Impella Device in 2018.
which would support his
strengthen if a patient has heart failure as
heart before and after the surgery. That
a result of heart surgery or a sudden car-
evening, the Impella was inserted through
diac event. The device is positioned outside the femoral artery of Carlos’ groin into the
the body and is connected to the heart typi- heart’s main pumping chamber.
cally through an artery in the groin. One
Once the device was in place, his blood
benefit of the PVAD is that it’s inserted per- pressure improved. Two days later, Carlos
cutaneously or through the skin and does
had quadruple bypass surgery to repair his
not require invasive surgery or anesthesia.
heart. Several days after the surgery, the
The procedure is typically performed in the PVAD was removed when Carlos’s heart
cardiac catheterization lab.
was strong enough to function without
“The Impella device is the world’s small-
mechanical support.
est heart pump,” said Mark Anderson, M.D.,
“The Impella pump reduces the work
chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery
necessary for the heart to pump,” ex-
and cardiothoracic surgeon at the Heart
plained Dr. Admani. “It gave Carlos’ heart
and Vascular Hospital at Hackensack
a chance to rest and heal. Today, he’s func-
University Medical Center. “The Impella is
tioning normally and is able to do anything
a temporary support device which takes
he wants to do.”
blood directly from the heart and pumps it
The Impella device is approved by the
into the body. It takes the workload off the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for
heart and lets the heart rest and recover
use in cardiogenic shock, which is a life-
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HUMC
A revolutionary device in use by the Heart and Vascular Hospital at Hackensack
University Medical Center is a percutaneous ventricular assist device (PVAD) called
the Impella® Heart pump. Pictured, left to right, with a model of the heart and vascular
system are Joseph E. Parrillo, M.D., chair of the Heart and Vascular Hospital, and Mark
Anderson, M.D., chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery, Heart and Vascular Hospital.
threatening situation that occurs when
the heart is unable to function, depriving
critical organs of the blood they need to
function properly. When cardiogenic shock
occurs, blood pressure becomes very low,
signifying the heart’s inability to adequately
pump blood in order to provide much-needed
oxygen to vital organs.
“This is a device that effectively takes
over the work, or a substantial amount of
the work, and allows a damaged or acutely
ill heart the time needed to recover,”
explains David Landers, M.D., vice chair of
the Heart and Vascular Hospital. “I tell my
patients that the Impella device functions
much like a sling for a broken arm, giving
it a chance to rest and heal. This device
is effectively resting the heart as much
as possible, allowing the natural healing
processes that exist in the heart to occur.”
Hackensack University Medical Center is
participating in two large clinical trials utiliz-
ing the use of the Impella device. The first
is an interventional trial focused on heart
attacks and prevention of heart failure and
was led by the Cardio-Vascular Center for
Research and Innovation at Tufts Medical
Center. Hackensack University Medical
Center, the only hospital in New Jersey to
participate, provided five of the 50 patients
who participated in the FDA STEMI Door-
to-Unloading safety and feasibility random-
ized controlled trial, which studied the
use of the Impella device in reducing
myocardial damage after a heart attack.
Hackensack University Medical Center
will also participate in the second phase
this spring, exploring the use of the Impella
device in improving the outcomes of
patients who suffered a heart attack.
“We are one of the busiest centers in
the country utilizing PVADs and the Impella
pump, a truly revolutionary, lifesaving
technology with numerous applications to
improve patient outcomes,” said Joseph
E. Parrillo, M.D., chair of the Heart and
Vascular Hospital. “As a recognized leader
in cardiovascular clinical excellence and
research, Hackensack University Medical
Center has created a culture of innova-
tion that embraces new technology, giving
patients access to the safest and most
advanced treatments on the market.”
Today, Carlos is doing well and says this
experience has taught him so much.
“I couldn’t be more appreciative of the
medical team at Hackensack University
Medical Center,” said Carlos. “They were
top-notch. Thanks to the stellar care I
received, I’m alive. I feel like a million bucks.
I learned so much from this experience. If
you have the slightest symptom, go get
yourself checked because you never know
what condition you might have.”