Salem Health’s Heart & Vascular Center announced they are helping save cardiac patients’ lives with the world’s smallest heart pumping device. Abiomed’s Impella device maintains a patient’s blood flow during a procedure, providing a safer approach to cardiac care without the need for surgery.

Ideally suited for higher-risk patients, those with weaker hearts or those in shock, the device allows cardiologists time to complete heart repairs without the need to rush if the heart slows or stops pumping. If the heart stops pumping or does not pump well, the Impella device acts as an internal bypass, pumping blood throughout the body without requiring open heart surgery.

“I had a patient whose heart stopped during his stent procedure,” said Kamran Ghalili, MD, cardiologist and member of the Salem Health Heart & Vascular Institute. “My patient didn’t even know his heart had stopped because the Impella device continued to pump his blood. In fact, he was awake, talking with us throughout the procedure. Once the stents were in, his heart started to pump again on its own. This gave us the time to be sure the heart was working well before we removed the Impella device.”

Salem Hospital recently acquired the Impella 2.5. The Impella 2.5 pumps approximately 2.5 liters of blood per minute, sustaining the heart and providing constant blood flow to major organs and throughout the body. The Impella draws blood from the left ventricle in the heart at one end of the device and expels blood into the aorta from the other end of the device. The Impella is so small it is placed into the patient’s heart via a cardiac catheterization procedure up through the femoral artery in the upper leg and inserted into the left ventricle via the aorta.

Salem Health is comprised of Salem Hospital, West Valley Hospital, Willamette Health Partners and other affiliated health care organizations offering exceptional care to people in and around Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley. Visit us at salemhealth.org and facebook.com/salemhealth; follow us on Twitter: @salemhealth; and view us at youtube.com/salemhealth.