World’s smallest heart pump will help to save lives in Lincolnshire

The Lincolnshire Heart Centre is among the first non-surgical centres in the country to use a new life-saving device to assist with the heart function during complex procedures to treat narrowings in the arteries of the heart.

The Impella device is the world’s smallest heart pump that allows the heart to rest and recover by temporarily assisting the pumping function of the heart to efficiently deliver blood and oxygen to the entire body during procedures.

The device has been used in some cardiac surgical centres around the country, but the centre at Lincoln County Hospital is among the first non-surgical heart centres to start using the device.

The first procedure was performed by the team in one of the high-tech cath labs at Lincoln County Hospital last month. They were supported by Consultant Interventional Cardiologist Dr Sohail Q Khan from University Hospitals Birmingham, who has fitted the device before, and Ollie Goss, who provided technical support from Abiomed – the company that have created the device.

Dennis Hauton, 83, from North Somercotes says he feels privileged to be the first patient to receive the device and believes his procedure will give him a new lease of life.

Mr Hauton needed to have percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), commonly known as a coronary angioplasty or stent. This is a procedure used to treat the narrowed or obstructed coronary arteries of the heart found in coronary heart disease that can cause angina or heart attacks. Without the use of the Impella device this procedure would have been too high a risk to be performed.

Mr Hauton, a retired continental coach driver, said: “Eighteen months ago I went for a routine check-up and mentioned that I occasionally get out of breath. After lots of tests I knew that I needed to have the procedure, but I also knew that I needed an extra piece of kit to be available for it to happen.

“The whole team have been absolutely brilliant. I feel privileged and proud to be the first patient at the heart centre to use one of the new devices.”

Mr Hauton says he is looking forward to being able to be a bit more active. He said: “I used to walk up to the village shop every day to get my newspaper, but noticed that it was getting harder and harder to do. Eventually I had to start driving up, but now I will be able to run to the shop or a least a brisk walk.

“This will give me a new lease of life and I will always be so grateful to the team for all they have done for me.”

Consultant Cardiologist Vinod Venugopal and Consultant Cardiologist Juan Fernandez are part of the Lincolnshire Heart Centre Team and worked together to perform the procedure.

Dr Fernandez said: “Today is a momentous day. We have wanted to offer these procedures to our patients from across the county with complex conditions for some time.

“An enormous amount of work has taken place behind the scenes to make today possible. There has been a real buzz in the centre and we had more colleagues in the cath lab during the procedure as it is also a brilliant training opportunity.

“Most patients having a coronary angioplasty will not need an Impella device, but for more serious and complex cases it really will help us to save lives.”

Dr Venugopal added: “Mr Hauton’s procedure lasted around three hours and the device did take over the function of the heart for a period of time.

“The device did exactly what we needed it to. It took the pressure off of his heart during the procedure which meant we were able to complete everything that we needed to in a thorough manner and will really help with his ongoing recovery.

“The most rewarding part for everyone involved is seeing Mr Hauton sitting up, smiling and chatting with the team.”