DETROIT – Henry Ford Hospital is seeking patients who have been diagnosed with heart failure to participate in a clinical study to treat their condition through nerve stimulation.
"There is a connection between the heart and brain, which we are learning more and more about," said David Lanfear, M.D., cardiologist and researcher, Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation, who is leading the study at Henry Ford. "This is a new device that is the first to treat the heart through nerve stimulation, a completely new mechanism."
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Henry Ford is a participant in INNOVATE-HF, a global investigational study to determine the safety and effectiveness of the CardioFit® system for treating heart failure.
CardioFit® is an implanted electrical device designed to improve heart function in patients with heart failure. It works by stimulating specific nerves that help regulate and reduce stress on the heart, easing heart failure symptoms and reversing deterioration.
The device is implanted under the skin of the chest and attached to the heart, like a pacemaker. It is also connected to a nerve in the neck. Electrical pulses from the device are sent to the nerve, which sends signals to the heart. The device is programmed by the patient's physician through a wireless connection, as is done with pacemakers.
"Early experiments with the device show promise of being able to significantly improve patients' heart function and quality of life when used with standard treatments, and this trial will tell us definitively if this is the case," said Lanfear.
For more information, or for evaluation as a possible candidate to take part in the study, please call Heart Failure Clinical Trials at 313-916-3520.