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In This Issue:
Frederic Resnic, left, and Denise Barry, right, examined patient Frances Nover one week after her angioplasty. At 80, Frances Nover may take up bowling again, one of her favorite former hobbies, although she’ll check with her doctor first. The energetic Quincy resident is feeling “wonderful” after becoming the second patient in the nation to be implanted with the Impella Recover 2.5—the world’s smallest ventricular assist device (VAD)—during a high-risk angioplasty at BWH last month. BWH is one of seven hospitals in the nation participating in a clinical trial to test the Impella device, and Nover became the hospital’s first patient to opt for the procedure rather than undergo surgery to clear a blockage in her left main coronary artery. “The device provided a safe and minimally-invasive way to give Mrs. Nover’s heart the support it needed during this high-risk angioplasty,” Frederic S. Resnic, MD, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, said. “I’m very pleased with the results.” During the two-and-a-half-hour procedure, Resnic led a team of doctors, nurses and technologists from the Cardiac Cath Lab in implanting the micro VAD in Nover to improve the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart and body. The VAD supports the patient during the procedure by improving circulation, and it is removed after the procedure. It is estimated that this procedure will benefit between 1 percent and 2 percent of angioplasty patients with the most compromised heart function going into the procedure. For Nover, the angioplasty meant less recovery time than surgery; she had the procedure on a Thursday and was home by Sunday evening. “I’m feeling wonderful. I’m active for 80,” said Nover, who is very conscious of her health and tries to exercise regularly. “I know that you lose it if you don’t use it.” Nover even took advantage of the nice weather and went for a walk the day after she returned home, said Denise Barry, RN, of Cardiac Research. “I called to check on her and expected her to be resting,” Barry said. “She told me the air was so lovely outside that she was going for a walk instead of staying in bed.” Barry was by Nover’s side from the beginning of her care at BWH. She made certain that Nover and her daughter Joanne Koppel had all the facts before Nover made the decision to participate in the clinical trial. “She understood her options and the reasons we felt she was a good candidate,” Barry said. “She wasn’t nervous at all about the decision she made.” Koppel agreed. “They really explained to us in detail what it meant for my mother to be part of this clinical trial,” she said. “They presented both sides of it to us.” Nover appreciated the support she received from her physicians, nurses and everyone on her care team. “I couldn’t begin to tell you how good they were,” Nover said. “The nurses especially are fun people to be with. Every one of them treated me just like my Joanne does.” Initiating this trial was a multidisciplinary effort, and the work of those in Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing, Research Regulatory Affairs and Administration, Echocardiography, IDS Pharmacy, Biomedical Engineering, Cardiology, Anesthesia and Nursing Education, as well as Cath Lab medical and nursing staff, physician assistants, Cardiovascular technicians and Radiology technicians was integral. “It was invigorating to have the support of so many departments and disciplines incorporated,” Barry said. “It drove home the true spirit of team-building and one shared goal: offering safe, new and exciting opportunities to our patients.” Frances Nover, left, told Denise Barry and Frederic Resnic that she feels wonderful the week after her angioplasty.
At 80, Frances Nover may take up bowling again, one of her favorite former hobbies, although she’ll check with her doctor first. The energetic Quincy resident is feeling “wonderful” after becoming the second patient in the nation to be implanted with the Impella Recover 2.5—the world’s smallest ventricular assist device (VAD)—during a high-risk angioplasty at BWH last month.
BWH is one of seven hospitals in the nation participating in a clinical trial to test the Impella device, and Nover became the hospital’s first patient to opt for the procedure rather than undergo surgery to clear a blockage in her left main coronary artery.
“The device provided a safe and minimally-invasive way to give Mrs. Nover’s heart the support it needed during this high-risk angioplasty,” Frederic S. Resnic, MD, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, said. “I’m very pleased with the results.”
During the two-and-a-half-hour procedure, Resnic led a team of doctors, nurses and technologists from the Cardiac Cath Lab in implanting the micro VAD in Nover to improve the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart and body. The VAD supports the patient during the procedure by improving circulation, and it is removed after the procedure. It is estimated that this procedure will benefit between 1 percent and 2 percent of angioplasty patients with the most compromised heart function going into the procedure.
For Nover, the angioplasty meant less recovery time than surgery; she had the procedure on a Thursday and was home by Sunday evening. “I’m feeling wonderful. I’m active for 80,” said Nover, who is very conscious of her health and tries to exercise regularly. “I know that you lose it if you don’t use it.”
Nover even took advantage of the nice weather and went for a walk the day after she returned home, said Denise Barry, RN, of Cardiac Research. “I called to check on her and expected her to be resting,” Barry said. “She told me the air was so lovely outside that she was going for a walk instead of staying in bed.”
Barry was by Nover’s side from the beginning of her care at BWH. She made certain that Nover and her daughter Joanne Koppel had all the facts before Nover made the decision to participate in the clinical trial. “She understood her options and the reasons we felt she was a good candidate,” Barry said. “She wasn’t nervous at all about the decision she made.”
Koppel agreed. “They really explained to us in detail what it meant for my mother to be part of this clinical trial,” she said. “They presented both sides of it to us.”
Nover appreciated the support she received from her physicians, nurses and everyone on her care team. “I couldn’t begin to tell you how good they were,” Nover said. “The nurses especially are fun people to be with. Every one of them treated me just like my Joanne does.”
Initiating this trial was a multidisciplinary effort, and the work of those in Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing, Research Regulatory Affairs and Administration, Echocardiography, IDS Pharmacy, Biomedical Engineering, Cardiology, Anesthesia and Nursing Education, as well as Cath Lab medical and nursing staff, physician assistants, Cardiovascular technicians and Radiology technicians was integral. “It was invigorating to have the support of so many departments and disciplines incorporated,” Barry said. “It drove home the true spirit of team-building and one shared goal: offering safe, new and exciting opportunities to our patients.”
Frances Nover, left, told Denise Barry and Frederic Resnic that she feels wonderful the week after her angioplasty.