Meet the First Person to Undergo Impella Procedure in the
State of Oklahoma

February 3, 2009 

The Impella 2.5 Cardiac Assist Device was approved recently by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a temporary support for heart failure patients facing critical situations.

The world’s smallest heart pump can assist the pumping of a weakened heart for periods up to six hours. That might not seem like a lot of time, but for 58-year-old Flora Floyd of Oklahoma City it was the difference between life and death. “I feel real lucky,” says Floyd. “I had never heard of the Impella device, but I can tell you I feel totally different now. I can breathe, walk a little further than I could before, and my chest no longer hurts.”

Floyd suffered a heart attack in 1997. She was diagnosed with severe cardiomyopathy, or a weakened heart muscle. Despite medical attention during the last twelve years her condition only worsened. She continued to decline in activity and suffered from constant shortness of breath. Her quality of life was rapidly decreasing.

Floyd was referred to Dr. David Nelson with the Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute for a transplant evaluation. He, in turn, sent her to Dr. Doug Horstmanshof with the Advanced Cardiac Care program at INTEGRIS Health. He discovered the root of her worsening problem, finding new severe blockages in the arteries of her heart. Two of the three main vessels supplying blood to her heart were more than 85 percent blocked, and the third was completely closed. Measurements also showed she was in severe heart failure with her heart’s squeezing power at no more than 10 percent.

It was determined that Floyd needed a high risk stent placement to open the blocked arteries in order to survive. But doctors knew her damaged heart would never be able to tolerate the procedure. They decided the newly approved Impella system was the best available option.

Dr. George Chrysant, lead interventional cardiologist with INTEGRIS Advanced Cardiac Care, preformed the procedure, the first of its kind in the state of Oklahoma. Using the Impella device he was able to support Floyd’s weakened heart long enough to open her severely narrowed heart arteries with several stents. “Impella is a tool that in certain populations has shown great promise and I remain cautiously optimistic about the device’s future,” says Dr. Chrysant. “In Ms. Floyd’s case it obviously worked out well.”

Here’s how the Impella system works: the Impella catheter is inserted through a puncture in the artery of the leg and directed carefully into position in the main pumping chamber of the heart. Once inside the heart’s left ventricle, it assists the heart’s pumping action with a small rotary pump that delivers 2.5 liters per minute of additional blood flow to keep the patient stable during an interventional procedure like a complicated balloon angioplasty or stent placement.

Floyd’s surgery paves the way for countless Oklahomans to benefit from this cutting edge technology. “For certain individuals, the Impella device will allow them to be effectively stabilized and treated when conventional therapies are insufficient,” says Dr. Horstmanshof. “We are excited to add this technology to the array of tools we have at INTEGRIS Heart Hospital to treat severe heart disease.”

Floyd’s procedure took place on Jan. 22 and was a complete success. She was released from the hospital the next day in good condition. The hope of course is now that her arteries are unclogged her heart will improve over time and restore function. The goal is to avoid transplant, but doctors will continue to monitor her situation to decide if and when more extreme measures will be necessary.