Abbott launches clip delivery system for non-invasive treatment of leaky mitral valves in India

Clinical evidence that this non-surgical treatment option for advanced heart diseases patients reduces symptoms and improve quality of life and survival

Abbott has launched its clip delivery system, a minimally invasive heart valve repair device to treat mitral regurgitation (MR) in India, that may be used for people suffering from MR due to a heart defect or as a result of heart failure.

This clip device repairs leaky mitral valves without open-heart surgery and is delivered to the heart through a vein in the leg. The device clips portions of the leaflets, or flaps, of the mitral valve together to reduce the backflow of blood (known as mitral regurgitation, or MR), restoring the heart’s ability to pump oxygenated blood more efficiently.

As per a release, to date, this product has helped treat more than 100,000 people worldwide suffering from MR and is supported by clinical evidence, including the results of the landmark COAPT™ Trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine in September 2018.

In addition, the device’s safety and efficacy is also reportedly supported by three randomised clinical trials, over 30,000 people enrolled in clinical studies and 1000+ publications, with more than 16 years of clinical experience.

Cardiac ailments affect more people than any other non-communicable disease in India. According to a study by The Lancet , cardiovascular diseases caused 28 per cent of deaths in 2016, which was double the numbers reported in 1990 when it caused 15 per cent of deaths in the country – from 1.3 million in 1990 to 2.8 million in 2016 in India.

“Heart disease” is a blanket term for several kinds of heart conditions. Of them, MR is the most common heart valve problem. About 1 in 10 people age 75 and older have MR .

Payal Agrawal, general manager for Abbott’s structural heart division in India believes that this transcatheter clip-based therapy can help make a difference as it is associated with less trauma for a patient.

Explaining the need for such technology, Dr. Sai Satish, Senior Interventional Cardiologist from Apollo Hospitals, India, and practicing interventional cardiologist and Director Structural Heart (International) Gottsegen Institute of Cardiology, Budapest, Hungary, who pioneered this treatment in India said, “Not all patients with a leaky mitral valve are suitable for open-heart surgery due to advanced age or other co-morbidities. Till now there was little we could do for them. This procedure is a non-surgical treatment option for these patients which has been proven to dramatically reduce symptoms and improve not just their quality of life, but also survival.”

Dr. Ravinder Singh Rao, MD, DM, FACC, Director, TAVI and Structural Heart Disease Program, Consultant Interventional Structural Cardiologist, Eternal Hospital, Jaipur said, “Mitral regurgitation with poor left ventricular function carries a poor prognosis. Medicines alone cannot cure this mechanical problem, and only help the heart tolerate it better. Open heart surgeries have risks for some patients.”

Talking about two recent procedures that he performed, Dr. Rao added, “I used the clip technology on two patients last week. One was a 56-year-old woman with poor LV function and severe mitral regurgitation, while the second patient was a 72-year-old doctor who had poor LV function and MR. He had in fact had a heart attack in the past. Post procedure both patients are better, and we could confirm leakage reduction on the transesophageal echocardiogram. The procedure is safe and effective.  Medical innovations such as these give our patients better odds at long-term survival and improved quality of life.”