First Cardiac Contractility Modulation Device Approved by FDA

Most cardiac implants, such as pacemakers and AICDs, are designed to correct the underlying heart’s rhythm and synchronize atrial and ventricular contractions. That’s how these devices can improve cardiac performance in people with heart failure. They don’t do anything to boost the intrinsic myocardial contractility of the heart. Now the FDA has just given approval to the first implant that actually uses electrical pulses to improve how hard the heart pushes blood through the body. The Optimizer Smart system from Impulse Dynamics, a company out of Orangeburg, New York, is implanted like any cardiac implant, but it uses a total of three electrode leads that are attached to the heart. It delivers what the company calls Cardiac Contractility Modulation (CCM), which involves sending non-excitatory pulses during the absolute refractory period of the heart cycle, in turn improving the systolic contraction of the heart muscle.