Hackensack University Medical Center Heart Doctors Are First in New Jersey to Perform Innovative Heart Failure Treatment

Interventional cardiologists and heart surgeons at Hackensack University Medical Center were the first in New Jersey to treat a patient with heart failure after a heart attack using a unique device that makes a weak, enlarged heart smaller — enabling it to pump blood more efficiently, relieving heart failure symptoms, and improving quality of life. The procedure is being evaluated through a clinical trial called ALIVE (American Less Invasive Ventricular Enhancement). Hackensack University Medical Center is participating in this study and is now enrolling eligible patients with heart failure and left ventricular scars and/or aneurysms.  

The ALIVE study is evaluating the LIVE procedure (left invasive ventricular enhancement) in patients with heart failure who have left ventricular scars or aneurysms on the front of the heart and whose symptoms are not responding well to medical treatment. An interventional cardiologist and surgeon work together, taking a hybrid approach to implant the device components through a catheter threaded into the heart via a vein in the neck and a probe inserted through a 1-inch incision in the chest. Multiple anchors inserted into the heart pinch the area of dead tissue closed, excluding the non-functioning scar tissue from the rest of the heart and reshaping the healthy part of the heart to a more normal size.  

This procedure is a promising alternative to traditional open-heart surgery to remove scarred heart tissue, which requires a large incision in the chest, attachment to a heart-lung machine, and a two-week hospital stay. The LIVE device was approved in Europe and has been shown to improve function, such as a better ability to walk.  

Enroll a Patient

The ALIVE study is recruiting patients who:

• Have symptomatic heart failure (New York Heart Association functional class III or ambulatory class IV)
• Are referred for treatment of left ventricular scars/aneurysms on the front of the heart that are contiguous
• Have a left ventricular ejection fraction under 45%

For more information or to inquire about being considered for this study, please contact 551-996-2136 or email Ann.TownsendSolis@hmhn.org.