Electrophysiologist Jonathan Krathen, DO, along with Deborah’s highly-specialized EP team, implanted the Hospital’s first Optimizer^® Smart Mini for patients with advanced heart failure. The device was implanted into a patient in his mid-60s, who already had an ICD and worsening heart failure.

The new device — similar in size to a pacemaker and implanted during a minimally-invasive procedure — is designed to improve the heart’s contraction, allowing more oxygen-rich blood to reach the body. The device does this through precisely calibrated and timed electrical pulses to the heart muscle during one-hour treatment periods scheduled throughout the day.

According to Dr. Krathen, “Cardiac contractility modulation therapy optimizes the heart’s handling of calcium, which prompts several biological steps that significantly improve muscle contraction in the heart. Over time the device will help strengthen the heart.” Dr. Krathen added that the implant focuses on patients with severe heart failure who are not yet candidates for a more complex device like a left-ventricle assist device.