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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – David Walker survived cancer and open-heart surgery, and both times had bounced back to enjoy years with his wife, kids and grandkids. But when his artificial heart valve failed, the 57-year-old Grand Haven man again faced a third life-threatening challenge. The malfunctioning valve left him weak and breathless. He carried an extra 100 pounds from fluid retention. He couldn’t walk to the end of his driveway. In his fragile state, the possibility of open-heart surgery filled him with dread. But then another solution appeared, in an unexpected place, the Congenital Heart Center of Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a clinic that helps babies (and adults) born with heart defects.
Walker received a revolutionary new fix for his faulty valve, Medtronic’s Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve which was approved by the FDA in early 2015. Dr. Joseph Vettukattil, Pediatric Cardiologist with Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital implanted the value through a minimally invasive procedure by which allowed him to avoid open-heart surgery.
The Melody Valve consists of a valve created from a cow’s jugular vein that is attached to a thin wire frame. A cardiologist places it on a catheter and guides it through the patient’s leg vein to the heart to place it inside the existing pulmonary valve―the one that controls the flow of blood from the heart’s right ventricle to the lungs. The bovine valve works especially well on the right side of the heart, because it accommodates the lower pressure of pulmonary circulation, Dr. Vettukattil said. Mechanical valves, which perform well on the left side of the heart, are more likely to become clogged when placed on the right side.
The Pill-sized Pacemaker – Revolutionary pacemaker could have a big impact on the more than 500,000 Americans that use pacemakers to treat abnormal heart rhythms.
The Micra Transcatheter Pacing System, also known as the pill-size pacemaker, looks like a large titanium vitamin pill that is small enough to be delivered through a catheter. “The Achilles heel, or the weak part, of the (traditional) pacemaker system is that leads can break or become infected and may need to be replaced or removed from the heart, which is a challenge,” said Andre Gauri, MD, section chief of cardiac electrophysiology at the Spectrum Health Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center. The Micra pacer is a pacemaker and a lead all in one device.
On Sept. 28, Herb Carpenter, 86, became the fifth patient in the state and the first in West Michigan to receive the Micra pacemaker since it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval April 16. Dr. Gauri inserted a catheter into Carpenter’s femoral vein in the groin and up to the blood vessel to the heart. He threaded the Micra pacer through the catheter and secured it in the right ventricle. Like other pacemakers, it is programmed to sense when the heart rate drops too low and to deliver an electrical impulse.Additional benefits include:
· The new pacemaker carries a psychological benefit- It does not include a scar and bump under the chest skin, as traditional pacemakers do. Such factors provide a constant reminder of the fact there’s something in there supporting them.
· The device is designed to be left in the body.
· The Micra pacemaker’s battery will last about 10 years. When the battery runs low, a cardiologist can implant a second pacemaker next to the first.
· Patients with the pacemaker can receive full-body MRIs. It is the only pacing system approved for both 1.5 Tesla and the more powerful 3 Tesla MRI scans.
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