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Published on: July 18, 2014
First-in-man Implantation of a Cardiac Microcurrent Device for Chronic Systolic Heart Failure
Jan D Schmitto1, L Christian Napp2, Silvia Mariani1
1From the Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Abstract:
Current therapies significantly improve survival and clinical endpoints in patients suffering from chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), but most are not sufficient to reverse adverse remodeling and improve myocardial contractility. Herein, we report the first-in-man experience with a novel fully implantable device for cardiac electrical microcurrent (C-MIC) application. A 79-year-old man suffering from HFrEF (dilated cardiomyopathy, NYHA class III, left ventricular ejection fraction 30%) successfully underwent implantation of the C-MIC device through left anterolateral thoracotomy. At 30-day follow-up, no device-related complications were observed, demonstrating feasibility of C-MIC implantation in a patient suffering from HFrEF.
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