Physical Therapy for Failing Hearts
Congestive Heart Failure is when the muscle in the heart deteriorates over time. When the muscle begins to deteriorate the heart isn't able to pump as efficient and as of now the only solution to this problem was a heart transplant . Almost 5 million people in the United States suffer from congestive heart failure, and 400,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
The cause of this heart failure is still unknown, although it has been shown to appear more frequently after a heart attack.
When other areas of the body such as ligaments and muscle are damaged in an accident, they are able to heal over time and meet the demands that are placed on them. Dr. Criscione from Texas A&M believes that the heart may be able to heal over time just like other parts of the body do. When a person damages a ligament in their knee they go through physical thearapy and slowly work their way back to normal function. When the heart is damaged it is a little more complicated because there is a constant load applied on the heart so it doesn't have time to heal as efficiently.
Dr. Criscione believes he may have a found a solution to this problem. Criscione has came up with an invention called a direct cardiac compression device. This device is implanted around the heart like a flexible cup with hollow walls. Pumping air into the walls of the cup squeezes the heart and pushes blood out. Letting the air out allows the heart to expand and fill with blood. This device can help ease the load on the heart over a period of time and possibly allow the heart to completely regain it's function and efficiency.
Criscione conducted 18 months of long-term efficacy trials in sheep, studying the heart’s performance during the time the device was implanted. The results of Criscione trials showed that there was improvement in the hearts efficiencny and normal motion of the heart was restored.
http://engineering.tamu.edu/research/magazine/2006/heart/
http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1192042694547Criscione.pdf
Patrick Long
VTPP 434 Section 502
The cause of this heart failure is still unknown, although it has been shown to appear more frequently after a heart attack.
When other areas of the body such as ligaments and muscle are damaged in an accident, they are able to heal over time and meet the demands that are placed on them. Dr. Criscione from Texas A&M believes that the heart may be able to heal over time just like other parts of the body do. When a person damages a ligament in their knee they go through physical thearapy and slowly work their way back to normal function. When the heart is damaged it is a little more complicated because there is a constant load applied on the heart so it doesn't have time to heal as efficiently.
Dr. Criscione believes he may have a found a solution to this problem. Criscione has came up with an invention called a direct cardiac compression device. This device is implanted around the heart like a flexible cup with hollow walls. Pumping air into the walls of the cup squeezes the heart and pushes blood out. Letting the air out allows the heart to expand and fill with blood. This device can help ease the load on the heart over a period of time and possibly allow the heart to completely regain it's function and efficiency.
Criscione conducted 18 months of long-term efficacy trials in sheep, studying the heart’s performance during the time the device was implanted. The results of Criscione trials showed that there was improvement in the hearts efficiencny and normal motion of the heart was restored.
http://engineering.tamu.edu/research/magazine/2006/heart/
http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1192042694547Criscione.pdf
Patrick Long
VTPP 434 Section 502
posted by cutekitten12(Patrick Long) at 1:24 PM
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