Heart & Vascular News

It’s one of the most common heart arrhythmias. But while the symptoms for atrial fibrillation (AFIB) vary, many with the abnormal heart rhythm have one thing in common – a greater chance of having a stroke.

Now, a new non-invasive procedure at the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Heart & Vascular Center aims to decrease that risk and the need for patients to be on blood thinning medications. It focuses on a part of the heart called the left atrial appendage. 

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.

While multiple treatment options exist to treat PAD, new therapies at the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Heart & Vascular Center are giving patients a minimally-invasive option. Endovascular therapy, using balloons and stents, is being used in a growing number of patients.