Waikato cardiologists use new technology to help high-risk patients

The CHIP team following the successful completion of the procedure.

Treatment of high-risk patients with coronary artery disease can now be done more safely, thanks to an Australasian first performed by a Waikato Hospital cardiology team.

Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand cardiologist Dr Madhav Menon said the team successfully completed a Complex High-Risk Indicated Procedure (CHIP) angioplasty using a Pulse Cath iVAC2L hemodynamic support catheter, on August 31.

Angioplasty is a procedure to open a narrowed or blocked artery, usually using a short wire mesh tube known as a stent.

“Patients who are complex cases with a very poor heart need support during the procedure to maintain cardiac output,” Dr Menon said.

Previously, the heart was supported using a balloon pump that inflates and deflates to assist the heart’s pumping action.

The iVAC2L device provides a higher level of support by suctioning blood from the ventricle - the chamber which pumps blood out of the heart - and pumping it directly into the aorta, which is the main artery that carries blood away from the heart to the rest of the body.

This took more stress off the heart during the procedure and provided better blood flow back to the heart.

“This technology gives us better blood pressure support for very sick hearts while performing complex interventions,” Dr Menon said.

“It allows us to perform these procedures more safely with better clinical outcomes for the patient and less stress for our team.”

Coronary artery disease patients previously required a lot of hospital time and resources because of the risky nature of their surgery.

It was estimated about 15 to 20 patients a year would benefit by being able to undergo the procedure. Improved clinical outcomes could also reduce the required hospital time and resources for the treatment.

“Though previously used in Europe, the Pulse Cath iVAC2L is new to New Zealand. Its introduction to this country last month, and the successful Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) procedure a few days earlier, further builds Waikato Hospital’s reputation as a cardiology centre of excellence,” Dr Menon said.

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