New Pathway to the Heart

By Todd Ackerman, Houston Chronicle

In a possible new way to treat heart failure, Houston surgeons implanted a device and wire in a Pearland man Monday that will electrically stimulate portions of his spinal cord.

The method, commonly used to treat pain, activates nerves that Methodist Hospital doctors think will improve the heart's ability to pump effectively, lowering blood pressure, reducing the amount of irregular heartbeats and stopping stress hormones from overreacting and causing cardiac damage.

"Despite the development of drugs that treat heart failure, patients continue to deteriorate," said Dr. Guillermo Torre-Amione, a Methodist heart failure specialist and leader of the effort. "This is a new concept that could increase therapeutic efficacy without adding new medications."

Complete story>>http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7178809.html