NEWS
RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bobbie Boyd, Director of Public Relations
& Community Outreach
Advanced Cardiac Specialists
Cell Phone: (602) 570-7069 E-mail:
bobbie.boyd@acs-im.com
STUDY SUGGESTS AGGRESSIVE TREATMENT MIGHT AWAKEN
“HIBERNATING” HEART
Gilbert, Arizona (March 8, 2000) - Historically, patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and severe impairment of their heart muscle pump performance (left ventricular dysfunction) have had a poor quality of life and dismal long-term prognosis. In recent years, scientists have reached a better understanding of the concept of “hibernating myocardium”, i.e., heart muscle which is in jeopardy due to lack of blood flow, but not totally dead and non-viable. With advances in technology, significant strides have been achieved in revascularization and salvage of jeopardized myocardium. However, the common perception, even among physicians, has been that non-surgical intervention (percutaneous coronary intervention or angioplasty) in patients with severe heart dysfunction carries a high-risk, and is associated with increased complications and death. As a result, patients with poor left ventricular function are frequently offered only drug therapy options. Ironically, reversal of left ventricular dysfunction and restoration of contractile performance is rarely successful with non-invasive medical therapy alone.
Studies
conducted by Advanced Cardiac Specialists’ (ACS; a statewide network of
cardiologists and internists, based primarily in Phoenix, Arizona) Department
of Cardiovascular Research have resulted in certain startling findings. In a series of 387 patients with severely
impaired heart contractile performance, treated with angioplasty over a
four-year period, (1/96 to 12/99), their procedural success was 93.8%. The mean age of these patients was 65
years. The in-hospital “event” rates
(death or major complications) were low.
In addition, their research indicates that at one-year follow-up,
restenosis (reclosure of the artery) rates are low and event-free survival is
impressive. At the end of one year
following successful angioplasty, 93% of patients were alive and nearly 80% of
patients in this study were found to be free of symptoms of angina or heart
failure. This data indicates that
angioplasty is a safe and viable treatment for patients with coronary heart
disease and severe left ventricular dysfunction.
Of particular significance is the fact that this research study suggests that an aggressive treatment strategy of successful revascularization and effective salvage of jeopardized, “hibernating” heart muscle was an important determinant in the improved clinical outcomes obtained in this series.
The study was co-authored by
Robert M. Siegel, M.D., Medical Director of ACS, Ambika Bhaskaran, M.D.,
Medical Director of Cardiovascular Research at ACS, and their research
team. The findings were presented to a
global audience of Cardiologists at the 49th Annual Scientific
Sessions of the American College of Cardiology in Anaheim, California from
March 12 – 15, 2000.