The FDA has approved the Full MagLev HeartMate 3 (Abbott) left ventricular assist device for use in heart failure patients in need of short-term haemodynamic support (eg. bridge-to-transplant or bridge to myocardial recovery). The device, a press release reports, is designed to provide patients with new benefits that embody the LVAD therapy—such as improved blood flow in a pump that uses full magnetic levitation to reduce trauma to blood passing through the system.
In developing the HeartMate 3 system, according to the press release, Abbott reduced the system’s size while reimagining how blood passes through an LVAD. The HeartMate 3 system deploys Full MagLev technology to reduce trauma to the blood passing through the pump while optimising blood flow. Improved blood flow can help minimise complications—such as pump thrombosis—that can be associated with LVAD therapy, ultimately improving the patient’s quality of life.
Mark D Carlson, divisional vice president and chief medical officer of Abbott’s Cardiac Arrhythmias and Heart Failure business, says: “Heart failure is a crippling and costly disease and the HeartMate 3 system is a big stride forward in giving patients the opportunity to return to better quality lives. Abbott is the pioneer and global leader in LVAD therapy and offers the broadest heart failure portfolio on the market to help physicians manage their patients from early to end-stage heart failure.”
