Los Robles Health System performs milestone procedure to assist patients with heart failure

Today Los Robles Health System announced that it was the first hospital on the West Coast and in California to perform a procedure focused on improving heart failure through an implant-free interatrial shunt. This is only the fifth time the procedure was performed in the United States as part of the EASE HF 2 Clinical Trial by InterShunt Technologies. The inaugural case was performed by Dr. Saibal Kar, interventional cardiologist, and the cardiovascular team at Los Robles Health System in Thousand Oaks.

The study seeks to provide hope to patients that have been diagnosed with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), a condition that occurs when the heart muscle is weakened and does not pump as well as it should due to excessive pressure within the heart’s left chamber.

This approach does not require a permanent implant but rather utilizes a transcatheter system to safely and easily remove septal tissue from the interatrial septum. Through the removal of the septal tissue, a left to right atrial shunt is formed that relieves left atrial pressure.

Common symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath and leave patients vulnerable to a variety of complications including heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, lung infections and sudden cardiac death.

“We are dedicated to providing our patients and region with access to the latest treatment options,” stated Phil Buttell, CEO of Los Robles Health System. “Heart failure affects more than 6 million individuals in the United States, and I am proud to be working alongside a team that is leading the way in finding viable treatment options that will have an impact nationally and locally.”