Albany Medical Center Reaches Milestone in Innovative Heart Failure Procedure
The Albany Med Health System successfully implanted its 50th Barostim device today— the world’s first FDA-approved heart failure device designed to treat patients who have had little to no success with other proven treatment options.
The procedure took place at Albany Medical Center and was performed by R. Clement Darling, III, MD, chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery. The patient was referred by electrophysiologist Rizwan Alimohammad, MD, from Capital Cardiology Associates. Albany Med was the second institution to perform the procedure in New York State in 2022.
The Barostim device is an implantable technology that uses electrical pulses to stimulate the heart’s blood pressure sensors through an electrode that lies on the patient's carotid artery in the neck. Clinical studies have shown the therapy can improve quality of life and reduce symptoms such as shortness of breath and fatigue in patients with heart failure.
“This unique technology is customizable to meet each patient’s individual therapy needs and offers the potential to improve quality of life and reduce health risks associated with heart failure, including heart and kidney disease, stroke, and death,” said Dr. Darling. “We are proud to have brought this life-changing therapy to 50 heart failure patients in our region and look forward to helping more.”
Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. Without effective treatment, most people with heart failure die within five years of being diagnosed. Patients also experience a poor quality of life.
Candidates for this procedure are patients who have symptoms of heart failure, including shortness of breath, fatigue and decreased tolerance for exercise, and have met other criteria.
Barostim therapy was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019 and is indicated for patients who remain symptomatic despite guideline-directed medical therapy. The device is implanted during a minimally invasive procedure and offers a non-pharmacologic approach to managing heart failure.
The team leading the Barostim procedure includes Albany Medical Center vascular surgeons R. Clement Darling III, MD; Casey Hladik, MD; Nicholas Gilbert, MD; and Jeffrey Hnath, MD, with assistance from Julia Kleene, MD and Brett Voight, MD, as well as Rizwan Alimohammad, MD; Eugene Pashkovetsky, MD: Ian Santoro, MD; and Gina Chavarria, NP, of Capital Cardiology Associates.
Albany Med’s vascular program is the first in New York State and the only in the region to become certified by the American College of Surgeons and Society for Vascular Surgery as a Comprehensive Inpatient Vascular-VP Center. The Division of Vascular Surgery team consists of 13 board certified vascular surgeons and three advanced practice providers who see patients in seven different clinic locations spanning Glens Falls to Kingston, NY.