Manreet Kanwar, Maryland
Credit: Allegheny Health Network

Physicians at Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Heart and Vascular Institute are using breakthrough technology to treat heart failure patients who have stopped responding to medications, pacemakers, and lifestyle changes.

The AccuCinch® System treats the left ventricle, which when enlarged can cause heart failure symptoms and lead to disease progression. AHN’s flagship academic medical center, Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) in Pittsburgh, is the first hospital in Western Pennsylvania to begin enrolling patients in the Accusinti clinical trial.

Manreet Kanwar, M.D., cardiologist and head of AHN’s Heart Failure Division, is leading the trial along with AHN interventional cardiologists David Lasoda, M.D., and Mithun Chakravarthy, M.D., and is collaborating with heart centers around the world to develop the device. We are researching the safety and effectiveness of. .

“The AccuCinch device is an exciting advancement in the management of advanced heart failure because it is designed to improve heart function with a minimally invasive approach,” said Kanwar. “We hope that its effectiveness will reduce cardiovascular symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life.”

AGH interventional cardiologists implanted the first AccuCinch device last July as part of a global clinical trial officially named the CORCINCH-HF study. About half of all people with heart failure have an enlarged left ventricle, often because the heart is working too hard to pump blood properly throughout the body. This device is intended to reduce the size of the heart’s left ventricle, improve the heart’s strength and blood pumping ability, and reduce symptoms of heart failure.

Recently published 12-month data on this study demonstrated improved outcomes and beneficial changes in heart structure for heart failure patients. It showed significant and progressive reverse remodeling of the left ventricle, as well as significant and sustained improvements in measures of quality of life and functional capacity.

During the Accusinti procedure, your doctor attaches and tightens a flexible implant inside the left ventricular wall. The implant reduces the size of the left ventricle, reduces stress on the ventricular wall, and supports and strengthens the heart wall.

“During this procedure, the interventional cardiologist passes a catheter through the patient’s leg and into the left ventricle of the heart,” Kanwal explained. “When you tighten the cable, it acts like the string on a drawstring bag. Because it’s a minimally invasive approach, we expect to be able to discharge patients the next day and get them back to their daily lives quickly.”

For more information or to find out if your patient is a candidate for enrollment, please contact Dr. Kanwar at 412-359-6181.

Accusinti® is a registered trademark of Ancora Heart, Inc.