Stuttgart – Diagnosed with chronic heart failure in 2009, Jürgen Schuller experienced recurrent hospital admissions and symptoms which seriously impaired his quality of life. Treatment via medication and an implantable cardioverter/defibrillator (ICD), although life-saving for many heart disease patients, failed to improve his condition. However, since receiving Impulse Dynamics’ OPTIMIZER device, Mr. Schuller has experienced a significant improvement in his health status.
Prior to the onset of his symptoms, Mr. Schuller had an active lifestyle. chronic heart failure, which affects the heart’s ability to function effectively, had a devastating effect on his life, leaving him unable to work or even to leave the house for long periods of time. A keen cyclist, he found himself unable to exercise, which, along with a decline in his social life, also resulted in depression.
In 2011, Prof. Christian Wolpert of the Ludwigsberg Clinic, introduced Mr. Schuller to a new therapeutic treatment which has since changed his life. The OPTIMIZER device, which is implanted using minimally-invasive surgery, uses cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) to deliver electrical pulses to the heart to help increase its capacity, thereby alleviating and improving the symptoms of heart failure.
“Cardiac contractility modulation, also called CCM therapy, is a new therapeutic method used internationally to treat patients with chronic cardiac insufficiency,” says Prof. Wolpet. “We have been applying this therapy to treat patients who have remained symptomatic despite a patient-specific medicinal regime at the Ludwigsburg Clinic for over four years now. Clinical studies have demonstrated that CCM positively enhances overall patient quality of life and physical exercise tolerance.”
Only two months after receiving the implant of the OPTIMIZER device, there was a significant improvement in Mr. Schuller’s heart function. Five years later, it is clear that it has changed his life – he has returned to work, has founded a self-help group for severe heart disease patients with device implants, and even enjoyed a cycling holiday with his family last summer. “It has given me back my quality of life,” says Mr. Schuller, “I am very grateful for that.”
“We are always touched by the stories of patients such as Mr. Schuller, who have suffered the debilitating symptoms of heart failure and have found relief with our therapy,” says Mr. Jens Kalender, Vice President of Commercial Operations at Impulse Dynamics. “We are committed to expanding the OPTIMIZER’s introduction to benefit more patients with heart failure.”
