August 31, 2001 - Midwest Heart Specialists Physician First in Chicago to Provide Ground-Breaking Therapy in Treatment of Congestive Heart Failure
Midwest Heart Specialists Physician First in Chicago to Provide Ground-Breaking Therapy in Treatment of Congestive Heart FailureAugust 31, 2001
Naperville, IL
Mitchell Saltzberg, MD, a heart failure specialist and cardiologist with Midwest Heart Specialists was the first physician in the Chicago area to treat a patient with congestive heart failure (CHF) with a ground-breaking new therapy.
The new product, Nesiritide, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration two weeks ago, is designed to provide relief to the most acute cases of congestive heart failure. Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart muscle becomes weakened and is unable to pump enough blood and oxygen to the body's organs.
Weakened heart muscle, the hallmark of congestive heart failure, can be the result of several factors, including previous heart attacks, high blood pressure, virus, valve disease or congenital defects. Symptoms of CHF include shortness of breath, irregular heart rhythms, fluid retention or general fatigue.
Nearly five million Americans have been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and an alarming 500,000 more are reported each year in the United States.
"Until the advent of this drug, many patients with CHF who presented to the hospital either responded slowly or occasionally, not at all to conventional therapy" said Dr. Saltzberg, who administered the drug last Tuesday. "However, Nesiritide opens or dilates the patient’s blood vessels within 30 minutes. This effect produces very rapid symptom relief in the very patients who are most ill. Thus, the pumping ability of the heart increases, providing more comfort to the patient."
Following the infusion of Nesiritide, the patient's cardiac output increased 50 percent and the pressures inside the heart fell dramatically, easing the patient’s breathing. The patient, who is currently at Edward Hospital, had been treated for 5 years for congestive heart failure.
"This is only one of the many patients who need relief from the daily discomfort of congestive heart failure," Dr. Saltzberg continued. "We're delighted that Midwest Heart Specialists can offer hope for thousands of patients who present to the hospital with an acute episode of heart failure and need rapid and safe relief from their symptoms."
Midwest Heart Specialists is a 38 member private practice Cardiology group in the western suburbs of Chicago. Cardiac sub-specialties include congestive heart failure, electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, radiology and clinical diagnosis and treatment. MHS physicians are on staff at five area hospitals and have clinics in Yorkville, BolingBrook, Kishwaukee and Sandwich.