Oklahoma Heart Institute In Tulsa Participates In Trial To Help Treat Congestive Heart Failure

Tulsa's Oklahoma Heart Institute is participating in a new trial to help treat congestive heart failure.

The ALT-FLOW II trial is currently enrolling up to 100 participants at sites in the United States and Oklahoma Heart Institute is one of those facilities.

Doctor Kamran Muhammad is the director of the structural heart disease program at OHI. Dr. Muhammad said congestive or chronic heart failure is a long-term condition that happens when your heart can't pump blood well enough to give your body a normal supply, causing fluid and pressure in the lungs.

This causes patients to struggle to do normal activities because of shortness of breath, low energy, and fatigue. There is only one form of treatment currently used to help patients, but it isn't always effective.

The new ALT-FLOW II is a one-time procedure done through the neck vein using a transcatheter shunt. Dr. Muhammad said it's promising.

“The idea of creating a shunt is that you can offload the side of the heart that has too much pressure and fluid buildup into the right side of the heart, which is more compliant and forgiving; and basically create a pop off valve so that the heart can unload," Muhammad said.

Muhammad said OHI is the only facility in the Southwest Region participating in the trial and they are still looking for candidates.