THE SMALLEST VAD IS IMPLANTED FOR THE FIRST TIME

HeartAssist5 Success Comes on the Back of European Approval

US company ReliantHeart has received a big boost for its HeartAssist5 pump and device, which recently earned the European CE Mark. The HeartAssist5 is the smallest ventricular assist device, VAD, of its kind and weighs just 3.3 ounces (92 grams). To top off this period of good news for the Texas-based company, the HeartAssist5 has just been implanted in a patient for the first time.

VAD’s are getting smaller, as well as getting better at increasing cardiac output while inhibiting clot formation. The HeartAssist5 has a flexibility of use, in that it can be implanted in everyone from large adults to children as young as four to six years old. It pairs with the HeartAssistRemote Monitoring System that can continuously send patient data to a clinician.

In the US, the device has yet to receive FDA approval, but on the back of its recent success in Europe, ReliantHeart must be confident it will only be a matter of time.

For more on this area, follow the link to our latest e-magazine, special edition cardiology.