New Heart Failure Device Implanted At Fredericksburg Hospital

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Mary Washington Hospital has performed its first implant of a device designed to treat certain heart failure patients whose symptoms persist despite medication, the hospital announced Monday.

Dr. Victor D’Addio, a vascular surgeon with Mary Washington General Surgery, performed the procedure using the Barostim Baroreflex Activation Therapy device. The hospital did not identify the patient or say when the procedure occurred.

Barostim is a neuromodulation device approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for certain patients with systolic heart failure, according to Mary Washington Healthcare. The treatment is used in conjunction with guideline-directed medical therapy.

Unlike some other devices used to treat heart failure, Barostim does not place hardware inside the heart. It sends electrical impulses to baroreceptors, natural sensors in the wall of the carotid artery that help regulate heart, kidney and vascular function through the autonomic nervous system.

Activating the receptors can reduce the heart’s workload and help it pump more efficiently, according to the healthcare system. The therapy has been shown to improve exercise capacity and quality of life in eligible patients, the hospital said.

“Heart failure can significantly limit a person’s ability to enjoy everyday life,” D’Addio said in a statement. “By offering Barostim therapy, we are expanding treatment options for patients whose symptoms continue despite medication.”

D’Addio said the technology uses the body’s nervous system to help improve symptoms, activity levels and quality of life.

Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, swelling in the legs and a reduced ability to perform physical activity.

“Our goal is to ensure patients throughout the Fredericksburg region have access to the most advanced cardiovascular treatments without having to leave their community,” Mike Brown, director of structural heart and cardiac surgery at Mary Washington Hospital, said in a statement.

More information about Barostim therapy is available through Mary Washington Healthcare.