Central PA Heart Failure Patient Receives Recently FDA Approved Breakthrough Treatment

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Harold Lysle, Jr. of Carlisle, Pa., was considered too high risk for surgery due to the severity of his heart failure and other comorbidities. As his heart failure worsened, so did his quality of life. Harold suffered from a heart condition called mitral regurgitation, in which blood flows backward through a valve in his heart.  Over time, mitral regurgitation (MR) can cause the heart function to worsen. Harold's condition had worsened so much that he was told to start "end of life" planning as traditional open heart surgery was not an option, and he would not have much longer to live.

Physicians at PinnacleHealth CardioVascular Institute were able to offer Mr. Lysle a new minimally invasive treatment option, implanting the MitraClip device, developed by healthcare company Abbott and first approved by the FDA for use in the U.S. this past October. Instead of open-heart surgery, the MitraClip device is delivered through a catheter to the heart through a blood vessel in the leg. This procedure is less invasive than open-heart surgery and typically only requires a short hospital stay of two to three days. The MitraClip therapy is designed to reduce significant Mitral Regurgitation by clipping together the leaflets of the mitral valve, one of the four valves of the heart.

PinnacleHealth is part of a select group of hospitals in the U.S. implanting the MitraClip Percutaneous Mitral Valve Repair System with a team of experienced heart surgeons and cardiologists working collaboratively to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients. 

The MitraClip device has been approved for U.S. patients with severe symptomatic degenerative Mitral Regurgitation who are at prohibitive risk for mitral valve surgery. Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation is a type of MR caused by an anatomic defect of the mitral valve of the heart. Prohibitive risk is determined by the clinical judgment of a heart team due to the presence of one or more documented surgical risk factors.

Following Mr. Lysle's procedure in December, he is becoming energetic, happy and optimistic for someone his age. Getting his mail no longer requires stops to and from the mailbox. He credits the MitraClip device and his doctors for giving him his life back and says he is amazed at what "good doctors can do when they have the tools to do it."

"We have completed numerous MitraClip procedures since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval last fall," says Brijeshwar Maini, MD, FACC, cardiologist and director of cardiovascular research and education at PinnacleHealth. "Through this breakthrough procedure, our patients are finding new hope for enhanced quality of life with a minimally invasive procedure."

This treatment is available through PinnacleHealth CardioVascular Institute's Valve Clinic, a multidisciplinary team of heart care specialists. "By bringing these specialties together, the valve clinic can offer a wider range of treatments for patients with valve disease," says Mubashir Mumtaz, MD, FACS, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at PinnacleHealth.

About PinnacleHealth System
PinnacleHealth is a pioneer not-for-profit healthcare system dedicated to improving the health and quality of life for the people of Central Pennsylvania since 1873. A proven leader in medical innovation, PinnacleHealth offers a wide range of services from primary care to the most complex surgeries and Magnet recognition for nursing excellence. The healthcare network includes four campuses (Community, West Shore, Harrisburg and Polyclinic). The new five-story West Shore Hospital includes 108 beds with an emergency department, medical/surgical care, cardiology, orthopedics, chronic disease management, and private patient rooms. PinnacleHealth is part of RiverHealth ACO, an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). Medical services, including family practice, imaging, outpatient surgery and oncology are offered at multiple locations throughout the region. For a complete list of services, visit our website at www.pinnaclehealth.org.

CONTACT:
Kelly McCall
Public Relations Coordinator
PinnacleHealth System
409 S. Second Street, Suite 1A
PO Box 8700
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8700
717-231-8104 (office)
717-576-2520 (cell)
[email protected]

Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUQkTEcd8KM&list=UUHoWEzkT0Boc0qoySYXeitQ&feature=share

SOURCE PinnacleHealth System