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The first Canadian to receive a new heart device that could strongly reduce the chance of stroke says the pump has expanded her options and given her a sense of freedom she hasn't enjoyed in years.

 

Lauza Legere was fitted with the C-Pulse cuff in December and finding a fresh breath has been a much easier task since. The heart-assisting device is currently part of a clinical trial at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal.

 

"I am a lot better than before," Legere said in a phone interview from her home in Laval, Que. "Before, I was always searching for my breath, but now I can walk and talk without searching for it.

 

"I went to the hospital today and I did not take the wheelchair — I walked. It was only the second time I didn't take the wheelchair."

 

While many other heart pumps are implanted inside the aorta on a temporary basis, the C-Pulse is implanted outside the aorta, with a cuff that is sewn around the critical heart valve. Inside the cuff is a balloon-type structure that inflates and deflates in rhythm with the individual's heartbeat to promote steady blood flow.

 

Dr. Renzo Cecere performed the operation and implanted the device in Legere. He said the new device opens exciting new doors for treating patients with severe heart disease.

 

"The traditional pumps that we've been using has blood that circulates within the pump itself and the pump propels the blood," said Cecere, director of the mechanical heart assist program and surgical director of the heart failure and heart transplant program at the McGill centre.

 

"This new class of device has no contact with the blood itself, so that represents a huge advantage in that the risk of blood clotting within the pump does not exist because there's no contact. The risk of stroke with this device is essentially eliminated."

 

In addition to reducing stroke risk, Cecere — who is the only person in Canada able to implant the device — said the C-Pulse also eliminates the need for blood thinners in many cases due to the increase in blood pressure that results from the mechanism's operation.

 

The pump, which is linked to a battery pack that is worn on the waist, can also be disconnected for certain purposes — for example, swimming or bathing.

 

For Legere, who also fought lung cancer in 2006, the options afforded by the C-Pulse were too beneficial to not participate in the trial.

 

"This was the best thing they could offer me (other than) a heart transplant," she said, adding that she would have to be in cancer remission for at least five years before she would be eligible for a transplant. "They talked to me about a mechanical heart and it scared me because I was hooked on a mechanical heart (before). With this one, I can unplug it to take a shower or take a walk."

 

Cecere is confident the first stage of the trial — which is to determine the product's safety — will be successful. It will then be followed up by further tests to ensure its effectiveness in humans.

 

Over the course of the trial, Cecere is aiming to implant the device in 12 patients over an 18-month period, with the next procedure scheduled shortly.

 

He said time will determine who is best suited to use the device, which was invented and first implanted into a patient in New Zealand. Cecere said only about 20 people in the world have the pumps implanted. The device is manufactured by a company named Sunshine Heart, which now has offices in the U.S. and Australia.

 

"Once we understand how it functions and how it helps, we can better target the audience for this pump," he said. "This is not a pump that replaces the heart's pumping function like traditional devices we've been implanting. They can actually take over the left ventricle of the heart altogether. This is not intended for patients that require that complete support."

 

Legere was just pleased she could take another measure to improve her own health and quality of life. Being a trailblazer is icing on the cake.

 

"I was very happy to be the first (Canadian) and I hope there will be a lot more," she said. "If it can help many people like me, it will be a good thing."

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