(BPT) – Heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure, affects more than 6 million adults in the United States according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It is a condition that develops when the heart isn’t pumping enough blood to meet the body’s needs – which can happen when the heart is unable to fill up with enough blood or if the heart is too weak to pump the blood properly.
While there is no current cure for heart failure, patients often seek medical intervention to find effective treatments – including medicines, procedures and devices – that will relieve the symptoms of heart failure and help them live fuller lives.
Barostim is the world’s first FDA-approved heart failure device to use neuromodulation – the power of the brain and nervous system – to improve the symptoms of heart failure.
For patients like Otto Isaac, a 72-year-old from Bastrop, Texas, living with heart failure prevented him from living a normal life and doing what he loved most.
‘I was depressed and anxious,’ said Isaac. ‘I’d wake up and go right back to sleep in front of the TV and sleep all day. I just couldn’t get up. I felt as though I had lost myself.’
Before he was diagnosed with heart failure, Otto used to work as a State Park Ranger. Just the simple act of walking 25 feet to put up a flag during the job left him exhausted. And after no success with alternative contemporary medications to improve his symptoms, Otto’s doctor recommended he consider Barostim.
Barostim is an implantable device that works by stimulating baroreceptors – natural sensors located in the wall of the carotid artery – that tell the nervous system how to regulate heart, kidney, and vascular function. These effects reduce the heart’s workload and help it pump more efficiently, helping to restore balance of the autonomic nervous system and improve the symptoms of heart failure, like breathlessness, fatigue and swelling.
Clinical trial data show that patients who received Barostim in addition to their medications felt much better and could walk farther than patients receiving only their medications. Barostim is the only heart failure device therapy that does not require any hardware in the heart or blood vessels.
With his Barostim implant, Otto can feel like himself again. He’s found that he has more energy and can exercise, which has improved his quality of life.
‘I feel like I got my life back,’ said Isaac. ‘I would encourage people who have heart failure to get Barostim if they qualify.’
Barostim is designed for heart failure patients who may not get adequate symptom relief from medications alone. If you have heart failure and your heart failure medications are not relieving your symptoms, Barostim may be the treatment option you’ve been seeking.
To learn more, visit https://www.cvrx.com/.
