WVU Heart and Vascular Institute enrolls 100th patient in cVAD registry

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Medicine has reached an important milestone by enrolling its 100th patient in the cVAD registry, a global registry that collects comprehensive data on use of the Impella® device to develop best practices, aid research, and improve outcomes.

“This milestone illustrates not only the commitment by WVU faculty to provide complex and cutting-edge therapies to the citizens of West Virginia, but also their dedication to fulfill the academic mission of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute,” Mohamad Alkhouli, M.D., medical director of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute Structural Heart Disease Program, said.

The Impella device is a pump that pulls blood from the left ventricle through an inlet area near the tip and expels blood from the catheter into the ascending aorta. It is intended for temporary use by patients with severe symptomatic coronary artery disease and diminished heart function that require a high-risk heart catheterization. The device also can be placed in patients with cardiogenic shock to ensure vital organs are perfused while a patient is in critical condition. 

The goal of the registry is to collect clinical, procedural and outcome data from hospital medical records across all participating sites without preselection for patients who received one or multiple Impella devices in routine clinical care.

“Our community is extremely fortunate to have such an advanced technology as the Impella device at WVU Medicine,” Melissa Crigler, B.S.N., R.N., clinical research specialist at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, said. “The research efforts for the Impella devices collect hundreds of data points which are continually reviewed with the intent of finding further uses for the device.”

The WVU Heart and Vascular Institute has routinely used the Impella device since 2011.