Jacksonville, Fla.–The Cardiovascular Center at Shands Jacksonville recently became the first site in Florida and Georgia to join a new clinical trial, called RHYTHM-Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). In this clinical trial, University of Florida (UF) physicians are exploring an improved ICD to treat heart failure patients who are at risk of dangerously fast heart rhythms.
“Previously, the main therapies for these patients were limited to medications,” explains Steve Hsu, M.D., a UF assistant professor of medicine and principal investigator in this clinical trial.
This ICD is unique because of its extremely small size. In fact, it’s the world’s smallest high-voltage device of its kind-about the size of a pager-which improves the comfort and cosmetic appeal for patients. Placed under the skin near the patient’s heart, the implant differs from other ICDs because it’s connected to both ventricles of the heart rather than just one.
The implant monitors the heart for dangerously fast and uncoordinated heart contractions, often described as fluttering or quivering in the heart. Upon detection, the device will provide an energy pulse to the heart to restore the normal heart rhythm.
Providing a low-energy pulse to synchronize the walls of the heart, the ICD also improves the efficiency of the heart’s pumping action. During this process, the implant maintains a detailed report of treatments and its results.
“We are excited about this improved device because it provides a new method to care for these individuals,” says Hsu, who serves as director of Cardiac Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia at Shands Jacksonville.
Currently, more than 5 million Americans are living with heart failure, meaning a person’s heart is no longer able to efficiently pump blood out of the heart. The body tries to compensate for its inefficiency in pumping blood in many ways, one of which involves the heart overworking.
Heart failure can result from damage or death to the heart muscle caused from heart diseases like hypertension and coronary artery disease, or can be the result of older age. If this condition isn’t quickly corrected, it can cause further deterioration to the heart muscle and, ultimately, death to the individual.