Bon Secours' Patient FIRST in Central Virginia to receive New Life-saving Care

RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its ongoing commitment to provide exceptional care for patients with heart disease, Marc R. Katz, MD, MPH, cardiac surgeon and chief medical officer of the Bon Secours Heart & Vascular Institute implanted the first HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device on August 18, 2015. The patient was selected as part of the prestigious MOMENTUM 3™ Clinical Trial. Bon Secours is one of 60 elite centers in the United States—and the first in central Virginia—chosen to evaluate the Thoratec® HeartMate 3™ Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD), a new advancement in mechanical circulatory support (MCS) for people with advanced heart failure.

The HeartMate 3 LVAD is an implantable mechanical device that helps circulate blood throughout the body. Sometimes called a "heart pump" or "LVAD," it is designed to supplement the pumping function of the heart for patients whose hearts are too weak to pump blood adequately on their own. The new fully magnetically levitated (Full MagLev™) flow technology is designed to lower adverse event rates. The HeartMate 3 is smaller in size than its predecessor, HeartMate II®, which enhances ease of surgical placement and allows for patients of a smaller size to benefit from the technology. The MOMENTUM 3 trial, which is expected to enroll more than 1,000 patients nationwide, is designed to evaluate the performance and safety of the HeartMate 3 at six months of LVAD support in patients with advanced heart failure.ⁱ

"We are very honored to be the only stand alone mechanical circulatory support program in the nation chosen to be part of the MOMENTUM 3 Clinical Trial," said Dr. Katz. "The HeartMate 3 represents the latest generation of LVAD technology and offers several refinements, such as a smaller size and more modular drive line, that will benefit the lives of these critically ill patients for a longer period of time. This is a huge advance in heart failure care."

Nearly six million people in the U.S. are afflicted with congestive heart failure. Of these, more than 250,000 are advanced cases with an annual mortality rate of 80 percent.

According to Dr. Katz, patients who undergo the LVAD procedure experience a dramatically improved quality of life because an LVAD can pump blood throughout the body as well as a healthy heart can. "An LVAD restores circulation and improves the efficiency of other organs that had been adversely impacted by diminished blood flow," he commented. "In fact, an LVAD is often a permanent fix for a patient suffering from severe heart failure or it can be a successful bridge to a heart transplant if that is deemed necessary."

"Selection for the highly esteemed MOMENTUM 3 Clinical Trial is a testament to the quality comprehensive care that Dr. Katz and his team demonstrate each and every day at the Heart & Vascular Institute," said Toni Ardabell, CEO of Bon Secours Richmond Health System. "It's so exciting that the Institute is being recognized nationally and even internationally for their commitment to embrace innovative advancements in medical procedures and to provide an extraordinary level of compassionate, patient-centered care."

Dr. Katz is especially proud that the HeartMate 3 LVAD joins several other advanced therapies, such as the MitraClip heart valve repair procedure and the CoreValve EVOLUT R System, now available at the Bon Secours Heart & Vascular Institute. "Cardiac patients don't have to travel long distances to get the skilled care that they need and deserve for heart disease, because it's right in their own backyard," he concluded.

About Bon Secours Virginia Health System
Bon Secours Virginia provides good help to thousands of Virginians through a network of hospitals, primary and specialty care practices, ambulatory care sites and continuing care facilities across the Commonwealth. The not-for-profit health system employs more than 12,500 people, including nearly 800 providers as part of the Bon Secours Medical Group.

The fourth largest and only faith-based health system in Virginia, Bon Secours Virginia offers a full range of services including cardiac, women's, children's, orthopaedics, oncology, neurosciences and surgery at eight award-winning hospitals.

• Bon Secours Richmond is St. Mary's Hospital, Memorial Regional Medical Center, Richmond Community Hospital, Rappahannock General Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center.
• Bon Secours Hampton Roads is Maryview Medical Center, DePaul Medical Center and Mary Immaculate Hospital.

About Bon Secours Virginia Health Care Foundation
The Bon Secours Virginia Health Care Foundation raises charitable funds to help Bon Secours Virginia Health System address the community's growing health care needs with compassion and excellence. Through charitable support, we are dedicated to helping create healthy communities, advancing clinical innovation and providing an extraordinary experience of care. For more information on giving, visit www.bsvaf.org.

About HeartMate 3
The Thoratec HeartMate 3 LVAS is an investigational chronic mechanical circulatory support (MCS) device intended for a broad range of advanced heart failure patients. HeartMate 3 is designed to restore blood flow, improve survival, functional status, and quality of life. The device is being evaluated for use as a long-term support option (years) for patients who are not candidates for cardiac transplantation (also known as Destination Therapy). It is also being evaluated for short-term support options (months) for patients awaiting transplantation (Bridge to Transplantation).

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ⁱU.S. Caution: Investigational Device. Limited by Federal United States law to investigational use.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150903/263649

SOURCE Bon Secours Virginia Health System

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http://www.bsvaf.org