Albany Med Delivers Advanced Treatment for Congestive Heart Failure
ALBANY, N.Y., March 5, 2008--Albany Medical Center is the first healthcare institution in the region to introduce aquapheresis--an innovative therapy which removes dangerous levels of excess fluid in patients suffering from congestive heart failure. The therapy has proven to be more effective in removing excess fluid than standard treatment and reduces the likelihood of re-hospitalization for congestive heart failure.
According to Edward Philbin, M.D., medical director of the Heart Failure Program and George Pataki Chair in Cardiology at Albany Medical Center, heart failure is characteristically accompanied by significant fluid retention. Aquapheresis is the first major advancement for acute fluid removal in the setting of acute heart failure since the introduction of diuretics, more than 50 years ago.
Aquapheresis uses the process of ultrafiltration to remove excess sodium and water from the body. Blood is withdrawn through a catheter and circulated through the filter system that separates the fluids from the blood. Once filtered, the clean blood is returned back to the body through a second catheter. Aquapheresis uses a peripheral intravenous line (a catheter inserted into a vein in the arm). By using this system, up to four liters of fluid can be removed in an eight-hour period, with no significant impact on blood pressure, kidney function, or electrolyte balance.
Conversely, treatment for congestive heart failure using intravenous or oral diuretic drugs can cause decreases in blood pressure and levels of potassium or magnesium, and may cause disruption of normal kidney function. Moreover, diuretics can take a longer period of time than aquapheresis to be completely effective. Overall, aquapheresis removes more fluid, more rapidly, than standard treatment with diuretics alone.
“Having the option of aquapheresis is a tremendous development in the treatment of congestive heart failure and although relatively new, it is a very attractive alternative that will change the way our patients live,” said Philbin. “It is cutting-edge technology and I am proud to have my team be at the forefront of advancing heart care for Capital Region residents.”
Aquapheresis enables physicians to control the rate and volume of fluid removal, and is proven to result in fluid removal in a shorter length of time than diuretics. Studies have proven that patients treated with aquapheresis experience greater weight and fluid loss, and at 90 days following therapy, there was a significant reduction in the number of patients requiring repeat hospitalization and unscheduled doctor’s visits.
Albany Medical Center is northeastern New York’s only academic health sciences center. It consists of Albany Medical College, Albany Medical Center Hospital and the Albany Medical Center Foundation, Inc. Additional information about Albany Medical Center can be found at www.amc.edu.
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Kristen Esposito
