Locally designed heart device aims to curb stroke incidents

SALT LAKE CITY — Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the United States, but a small heart implant device, created by a local company, could prove to be a lifesaver.

In an unhealthy heart, blood clots form easily in the left atrial appendage, a muscular pouch on the heart. If those clots break loose and flow to your brain, stroke occurs.

A quarter-sized device, created by Coherex Medical, can now solve that problem.

Last week, Dr. Brian Whisenant, leading cardiologist and founder of Salt Lake-based Coherex Medical, supervised the world's first human implantation of the potentially life-saving device during a surgery in New Zealand. He said the operation was a great success.

"It was quick. It was easy. He went home the next day," Whisenant said about the patient. "It's been about a week now, he's doing great, and we've dramatically reduced his risk of stroke."

In surgery, the WaveCrest Left Atrial Appendage Occluder is placed at the opening of the appendage. The surgeon snakes the occluder from the thigh to the heart. Once in place, the surgeon anchors the device and pulls out the catheter and implantation tools.

"As it is unsheathed, as it comes out of the catheter, it expands, and fills up the appendage," said the cardiologist.

The left atrial appendage is a dangerous breeding ground for strokes caused by blood clots among people with irregular heartbeat patterns known as atrial fibrillation.

"Over time, tissue grows over this wall and eliminates this appendage where clots form," he said, pointing to the implanted device.

Richard Linder, president of Coherex Medical, said the risk of stroke hits home for all of us.

According to the American Heart Association, 15 percent of strokes occur in people with atrial fibrillation, affecting millions of Americans every year.

"Stroke is the number three leading cause of death in the United States, the number one leading cause of adult disability," Linder said.

Coherex aims to prove the device reduces the risk for stroke from 5 percent to less than 1 percent for patients with atrial fibrillation.

"If you're talking about 5 percent of the world's population over age 65, that's a lot of people and a lot of strokes we're preventing," Whisenant said.

It also reduces the need to use blood thinners, which are typically tough on patients.

"I suspect, five years from now, this will revolutionize the care of patients with atrial fibrillation," he said. Trials are under way outside the United States, and trials in the U.S. are targeted for late 2011.

Left atrial appendage closure is estimated to be a multibillion dollar annual market.

e-mail: jboal@desnews.com