A tiny heart pump inserted without surgery is being hailed as a revolutionary device for treating heart disease.
Called the Impella Recover LP 2.5 and made by Impella Cardiosystems of Germany, the four-millimeter-wide device sits in the left ventricle, the heart’s largest chamber, where it helps the heart pump blood.
Considered the world’s smallest heart support system, the pump is inserted through a tiny hole made in the artery in the groin. With the help of X-rays, it is guided by wires through the artery until it’s in the right place.
A patient at Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust recently became the first in the UK to get the pump, which was implanted for a day to provide temporary support following coronary artery bypass surgery.
“This new impeller pump technology which can be put into the heart without invasive surgery will revolutionize the way we deal with heart disease,” says Peter Smith, lead surgeon on the operation. “The ease of using these pumps, particularly in patients with very diseased or damaged hearts, means that we can now successfully treat patients that we otherwise would have been unable to.”
Heart help
Left ventricular assist devices such as the Impella Recover are surgically implanted mechanical pumps that help maintain the pumping ability of a heart that can’t work on its own.
Sometimes called a “bridge to transplant,” they’re often used to prevent further heart weakening in people waiting for a donor heart. Most of the devices are portable and can be used for weeks to months without patients needing to stay in hospital.
The Impella Recover LP 2.5 can pump up to 2.5 liters of blood per minute. It uses an electrical motor connected to three-millimeter wire that extends from a patient to a battery and control pack about the size of a small laptop computer. It can stay in place for up to five days.
The UK patient who received the pump is expected to make a good recovery.
“These devices are becoming increasingly cost-effective, especially when you consider the alternative to using them, which includes repeat invasive surgery and possibly transplant, and extended stays in hospital,” says Smith. “We have been astounded by how well this has worked, and have high hopes for the future of this technology.”