September 17, 2008 - BioControl Medical said six month data for eight of the more than 30 patients who participated in the overall European pilot study of CardioFit for Congestive Heart Failure was published in the European Journal of Heart Failure, volume 10, issue 9, pages 884–891.
All eight patients were enrolled at the Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo and the University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy. The article was authored by the study’s principal investigator, Professor Peter J. Schwartz, with his associates from Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo and the University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy. The article is titled “Long Term Vagal Stimulation in Patients with Advanced Heart Failure: First Experience in Man.” It describes the use of CardioFit’s implantable vagal stimulation system in a pilot study designed to assess, for the first time ever, the feasibility and safety and possible efficacy of chronic vagal stimulation (VS) in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients.
“A significant 40 percent improvement was observed in the commonly used Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Quality of Life questionnaire (p
The eight patients, all with advanced CHF, had a mean age of 54 years. Two to four weeks after implantation of CardioFit, vagal stimulation was initiated and intensity increased according to a prospective protocol. “It is our opinion as investigators that the CardioFit’s novel approach to the treatment of patients with heart failure is feasible, and appears safe and tolerable. The preliminary efficacy results support the commencement of a controlled multi-center study in a larger population to confirm the seeming efficacy of the system,” Schwartz said.
The details pertaining to the six month data report on the first 20 patients in the pilot study will be addressed in a presentation at the 2008 American Heart Association annual meeting in New Orleans in November.
For more information: www.biocontrol-medical.com
May 03, 2023 
