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Oklahoma Physicians Leading Advances In Artificial Heart Pumps

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Early results from nationwide study indicates a new artificial heart pump could lead to fewer complications and better health outcomes.

Two local cardiologists at Integris co-authored research published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine, according to The Journal Record’s Sarah Terry-Cobo:

The HeartMate 3 device uses magnets to levitate a spinning rotor that turns at 5,000 rotations per minute. The new device was engineered so that it can pump blood into the heart more efficiently. The hypothesis is that the levitating rotors will be less likely to damage fragile red blood cells, an important blood-clotting enzyme and blood platelets.

Drs. James Long and Doug Horstmanshof helped enroll patients in the two-year clinical trial. 

Doing less damage to blood elements was an important scientific finding because it reduces the risk of blood clots, he said. While only 7 percent of the data have been collected from the clinical trial, early results from 294 patients established the proof-of-concept, Horstmanshof said. About 1,000 people are enrolled in the trial, half with the HeartMate 3 device and half with the HeartMate 2 device. Patients with the new device had no blood clots, and 11 blood-clotting events were recorded in patients with the second-generation device, he said.

A 2014 report from the Oklahoma State Department of Health shows the state has one of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease in the nation, and the third-highest death rate. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates Oklahoma and four other states had the highest avoidable death rate from cardiovascular disease.

Reducing the chance a patient has to have a second open-heart surgery lowers health care costs and improves the patient’s health outcomes, said Long. Long, a cardiovascular surgeon at Integris, said the more the heart pump equipment is improved, the more people who need life-giving equipment could receive it. And as the medical device improves, then doctors could implant it in patients who aren’t in late stages of heart failure, Long said. Long and Horstmanshof worked with patients and physicians in surrounding states to enroll people in the trial and increase awareness about Integris’ advances. Improvements in treating heart disease are critical to lowering health care costs nationwide, Long said.

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Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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