July 16, 2018 10:47 AM -
ST. LOUIS, MO (July 16, 2018) – SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital is first in the region to join a new national initiative for cardiac patients suffering from cardiogenic shock.
Cardiogenic shock is a life-threatening condition when suddenly the heart cannot pump enough blood through the body. This often leads to cardiac arrest, resulting in death of an estimated 50 percent of patients.
Developed by cardiologists at Henry Ford Medical Center in Detroit, MI, the National Cardiogenic Shock Initiative is as a collaboration between five separate Detroit-area hospital systems with the goal of improving mortality in patients suffering from cardiogenic shock.
SSM Health SLU Hospital joins the initiative after early data from Detroit shows survival rates have improved to 76 percent.
The 2016 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Impella heart pump for the treatment of cardiogenic shock helped lead to this initiative. Impella is a device percutaneously implanted by cardiologists for patients with a failing heart.
“At SLU, we were early adopters of the Impella device soon after it was introduced and participated in trials to investigate it,” says Michael Lim, MD, cardiologist with SLUCare at SSM Health SLU Hospital. “This experience translated into our facility becoming very comfortable with the device in many different patient conditions, including shock and cardiac arrest.”
That experience led to Impella being used for cardiogenic shock patients at SLU Hospital and in turn joining the National Cardiogenic Shock Initiative. Long term, Dr. Lim would like to expand the practice across other hospitals in the St. Louis region like those in Detroit.
“Like many communities, there is great variability in the St. Louis region community in treating cardiogenic shock,” says Dr. Lim. “Interventional cardiologists have widely different practice patterns they are very attached to in how they treat patients, relying on comfort and experience.
To really make an impact on the challenge of cardiogenic shock, we don’t see any other way but to get together with like-minded interventionalists and show this can make a difference.”
Learn more about the initiative from FOX 2 News here.
About SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital
SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital is a 356-bed quaternary and tertiary hospital specializing in organ transplants and home of the Mid-America Stroke Network. A teaching hospital, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital is home to SLUCare physicians and students of Saint Louis University Medical School. An ACS Level I trauma center for both Missouri and Illinois, Saint Louis University Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission and designated as a Primary Stroke Center.
For more information, visit us at www.ssmhealth.com/sluhospital or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
Cardiogenic shock is a life-threatening condition when suddenly the heart cannot pump enough blood through the body. This often leads to cardiac arrest, resulting in death of an estimated 50 percent of patients.
Developed by cardiologists at Henry Ford Medical Center in Detroit, MI, the National Cardiogenic Shock Initiative is as a collaboration between five separate Detroit-area hospital systems with the goal of improving mortality in patients suffering from cardiogenic shock.
SSM Health SLU Hospital joins the initiative after early data from Detroit shows survival rates have improved to 76 percent.
The 2016 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Impella heart pump for the treatment of cardiogenic shock helped lead to this initiative. Impella is a device percutaneously implanted by cardiologists for patients with a failing heart.
“At SLU, we were early adopters of the Impella device soon after it was introduced and participated in trials to investigate it,” says Michael Lim, MD, cardiologist with SLUCare at SSM Health SLU Hospital. “This experience translated into our facility becoming very comfortable with the device in many different patient conditions, including shock and cardiac arrest.”
That experience led to Impella being used for cardiogenic shock patients at SLU Hospital and in turn joining the National Cardiogenic Shock Initiative. Long term, Dr. Lim would like to expand the practice across other hospitals in the St. Louis region like those in Detroit.
“Like many communities, there is great variability in the St. Louis region community in treating cardiogenic shock,” says Dr. Lim. “Interventional cardiologists have widely different practice patterns they are very attached to in how they treat patients, relying on comfort and experience.
To really make an impact on the challenge of cardiogenic shock, we don’t see any other way but to get together with like-minded interventionalists and show this can make a difference.”
Learn more about the initiative from FOX 2 News here.
About SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital
SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital is a 356-bed quaternary and tertiary hospital specializing in organ transplants and home of the Mid-America Stroke Network. A teaching hospital, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital is home to SLUCare physicians and students of Saint Louis University Medical School. An ACS Level I trauma center for both Missouri and Illinois, Saint Louis University Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission and designated as a Primary Stroke Center.
For more information, visit us at www.ssmhealth.com/sluhospital or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
