Silver Cross First in World to Enroll Patient in Groundbreaking Heart Failure Study

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 was one for the record books at Silver Cross, as the New Lenox hospital became the first site in the world to implant a heart failure device in a patient enrolled in the groundbreaking Proactive 2 Heart Failure Study.

The patient, a 71-year-old male with advanced heart failure and several repeat hospitalizations over the past year, was enrolled by Dr. Gregory Macaluso, Heart Failure and Transplant Specialist. Once enrolled, the next step was implantation of a tiny sensor device in his right pulmonary artery by Interventional Cardiologist Dr. James Sur in the hospital’s state-of-the-art Cardiac Catheterization Lab.

Patients with heart failure and their family members are familiar with the symptoms: swelling, shortness of breath, fatigue and coughing.

But long before these symptoms arrive, elevated pulmonary artery pressure levels are the first sign that heart failure is worsening. With that critical information, providers can take immediate action to prevent serious symptoms – and repeat hospital stays.

The new Proactive 2 HF Study is international in scope with a goal of 1,500 enrollees worldwide, but its roots are much closer to home. Naperville-based Endotronix sponsors the study and makes the Cordella Heart Failure System, which electronically communicates data from the device to a patient’s healthcare providers.

The original Proactive study targeted patients with Class 3 heart failure, which causes symptoms with minimal physical exertion. The Proactive 2 Study aims to expand enrollment to patients with Class 2 heart failure (symptoms caused by moderate exertion) to see if it positively impacts heart failure earlier in the disease process.

That could be a game-changer for heart failure patients by helping them proactively manage their condition, resulting in improved quality of life. The device used in the study is implanted in a 30- to 60-minute procedure in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab. The patient is consciously sedated and typically will go home the same day.

For more information, call the Advanced Heart Failure Clinic at 815-300-3811.

silvercross.org