Results from Abiomed U.S. Registry – Analyst Blog

The September 2010 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery recently published results from the registry of cardiac assist devices maker Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) in a paper titled “Use of the AB5000 Ventricular Assist Device in Cardiogenic Shock After Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI)”.

 

This is a detailed paper on AMI (also known as heart attack) cardiogenic shock patients on VAD support. According to one medical practitioner, the paper found that early insertion of bridge to recovery VADs, as in AB5000, improved the survival probability of cardiogenic shock victims. The paper pointed out that temporary heart recovery devices are capable of restoring heart muscles and thus avoid organ transplant for patients with critical disease.

 

This study reported results of the initial 100 patients with AMI cardiogenic shock who had received the AB5000 VAD. It found that 52% of the 100 shock patients remained in shock for over 24 hours before VAD implant. The median time from shock to implant of a VAD was 26.5 hours and 44% of the patients received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for about 20 minutes before the implant of VAD.  

 

The study also found that the estimated survival rate associated with AMI cardiogenic shock patients, computed for this patient population by usage of Logistic EuroSCORE, was less than 15%. The actual survival rate for the same patient population in the AB5000 registry was 40%.       

 

According to the study, about 63% of those who survived demonstrated heart recovery, which was defined as patients showing stable and unassisted heart function at time of discharge or 30 days after VAD explant. Further, the survival rate for patients on recovery mode, 2 years after explant of VAD, was 78%.

 

In addition, among survivors who remained on AB5000 support and were unable to experience recovery of their natural hearts, 80% received a successful transplant and were then discharged.

 

According to Abiomed, AB5000 is the sole VAD that the FDA has approved for all indications of recovery of heart muscle. It added that recovery of heart muscle is the most likely possibility for AMI cardiogenic shock patients who have received assistance from a VAD.    

 

Danvers, Massachusetts based Abiomed is a provider of medical devices for circulatory support to acute heart failure victims. Its products are intended to enable the heart to rest and recover and benefit from better blood flow and/or carrying out the pumping function of the heart. Abiomed competes with Thoratec Corporation (THOR), in the VAD market, among others.