Breakthrough Procedure Performed at St. Luke’s Medical Center
Revolutionizes Standard of Care for Cardiac Patients

PHOENIX (Jan. 21, 2009) – St. Luke’s Medical Center announced its first procedure with Abiomed’s Impella 2.5 heart pump, a revolutionary device that changes the standard of care by providing a safety net for patients who could not otherwise undergo high risk cardiac catheterization procedures.

The procedure was performed by interventional cardiologist Richard R. Heuser, MD, FACC, FACP, FESC on Wed., Jan. 21 at 11:00 a.m. in the St. Luke’s Medical Center Cardiac Catheterization Lab.

“The Impella device allows us to work more safely on the hearts of critically ill cardiac patients using minimally-invasive catheter techniques,” said Dr. Heuser, director of cardiology at St. Luke’s Medical Center. “Because this device supports the heart during the procedure, we can treat patients more quickly and, in some cases, we can provide minimally invasive procedures to patients who in the past would have had to undergo open-heart surgery.”

As the smallest heart pump on the market, Impella 2.5 works by temporarily relieving the heart’s pumping function and providing physicians with the time needed to initiate life-saving interventions.
The device is inserted percutaneously through the femoral artery into the left ventricle, a procedure that lasts just a few minutes. Up to 2.5 liters of blood are delivered by the pump from the left ventricle into the ascending aorta, providing the heart with active support five times faster than current industry devices and three to five times more blood flow than the present standard of care.

“In 1956, St. Luke’s Medical Center performed the first cardiac cath procedure in the Valley, and in 1960, the Valley’s first open-heart surgery,” said Brent Cope, CEO. “This new procedure demonstrates our continued commitment to providing state-of-the-art cardiac care to our community.”

St. Luke’s Medical Center and Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital are part of Tennessee-based IASIS Healthcare. Serving the Valley for more than 100 years, St. Luke’s Medical Center is a 235-bed tertiary care facility offering a full range of medical services and centers of excellence including emergency care, cardiovascular, orthopedics, bariatrics, cardiopulmonary services, and physical rehabilitation. The 87-bed Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, a campus of St. Luke’s Medical Center, offers a full range of services including emergency care, bariatrics, surgical, maternity, wound care and pain management in a caring, community hospital atmosphere.