The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Abbott Laboratories' HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist System, according to StarTribune.
Here are four things to know.
- The device, intended to treat advanced heart failure patients, pumps blood via a magnetically levitated propeller that simulates the beating of a heart.
- The device's design is intended to be safer than traditional left-ventricular assist heart pumps, which can cause friction and cellular damage from rotors mounted on mechanical bearings.
- In a recent clinical trial, patients treated with the device experienced fewer strokes and device issues six months post-implantation, compared to patients implanted with Abbott's other ventricular assist pump.
- Abbott acquired the HeartMate 3 device through its recent takeover of St. Jude Medical.
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