Latest Clinical & Research News
Specialty: Heart & Vascular
In the summer of 2019, Paul Pezzote, 67, learned he had Stage 4 cancer. Pezzote, who has Parkinson’s disease, had undergone treatments in 2010 at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center (DF/BWCC). However, the cancer had returned and spread.
In March of 2020, Brigham and Women’s Hospital purchased four additional extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines to prepare for a possible surge of COVID-19. It wasn’t yet clear if ECMO could support critically ill COVID-19 patients, but early reports from China had shown promise.
The Cardiac Amyloidosis Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital was the first of its kind in the United States. Established 10 years ago by Rodney H. Falk, MD, a widely recognized expert in cardiac amyloidosis, the collaborative program has expanded to diagnose and treat every form of amyloidosis, involving experts from cardiology, cardiac pathology, gastroenterology, hematology, nephrology, oncology and neurology.
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In the last decade, there has been rapid progress in the treatment of aortic valve disease with catheter-based therapies. For adults with aortic stenosis, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become commonplace, with Brigham and Women’s Hospital offering the highest-volume TAVR program in New England.
Ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients with structural heart disease can be life-threatening and often requires a multi-pronged treatment strategy. While implanted defibrillators can detect arrhythmias, shocks can be painful and sometimes harmful.
Medications can help manage or eliminate VT, but they can have limited efficacy and toxicities. And while radiofrequency catheter ablation can destroy abnormal heart tissues, success rates range from 49 to 75 percent.
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When a 54-year-old woman arrived at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, cardiovascular experts at the Heart & Vascular Center (HVC) discovered that her left main and right coronary arteries were 99 percent blocked.
Advances in cancer therapies have allowed clinicians to better manage cancer and extend the lives of patients, but many therapies can produce serious cardiovascular side effects, from arrhythmias and hypertension, to cardiomyopathy and even heart failure.
This November, leading experts in cardiology from Brigham and Women’s Hospital presented new findings and cutting-edge research at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2019 in Philadelphia.
The NuPulseCV Intravascular Ventricular Assist system (iVAS) is a novel, minimally invasive mechanical circulatory support device that provides long-term support for patients with advanced heart failure who are not benefiting from medications or cardiac resynchronization therapy.
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In September 2019, results from the DAPA-HF trial revealed that SGLT2 inhibitors may be helpful for patients with heart failure. These therapies may also be used to prevent heart failure in patients with diabetes*. However, a way of accurately identifying which diabetes patients are most at risk for heart failure has been elusive.
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