Heart & Vascular News

A device approved today by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to treat leaky mitral valves was first used in this region as part of a clinical trial at the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Heart & Vascular Center. This new non-surgical alternative for mitral valve repair, which involves using a small clip, offers hope to the more than four million Americans with leaky mitral valves.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital was recently honored by the American Heart Association (AHA) with two prestigious awards: the 2012-2013 “Mission: Lifeline Gold Award” and the “Get With The Guidelines®–Stroke” Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award.

Washington University physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital were the first in the country to implant the Impella CP into a heart failure patient on Sept. 28, via a catheter, rather than an open procedure. About the size of a coffee stirrer, the new device is the world’s smallest heart pump, yet it can support the heart by pumping up to four liters of blood per minute.

Approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of fenestrated endovascular stent grafts allows vascular surgeons at the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Heart & Vascular Center to be among few in the nation providing a new alternative to patients diagnosed with complex abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).

The Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital Heart and Vascular Center is a 2012 recipient of the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Mission: Lifeline Gold Award. The award recognizes the success of Barnes-Jewish and their physician partners at Washington University School of Medicine in providing quality care to heart attack patients. Barnes-Jewish is the only St. Louis area hospital to receive this recognition.