New method for treating advanced heart failure with conduction disorders

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The photo shows a group of eight people standing in a procedure room. All of them are wearing medical attire: caps, masks lowered under the chin, gowns, and shoe covers. Two people on the left are holding certificates. Several people on the right are holding a large rectangular banner. The banner contains the text: ‘The World's First High-Voltage Device Approved for LBBAP – Rivacor Sky’ and the Biotronik logo. In the background, a monitor with a medical image, surgical lights are vi
A team from the 1st Chair and Department of Cardiology performed one of the first implantations in Poland of a modern cardioverter-defibrillator with cardiac resynchronization therapy. The device enables physiological stimulation of the heart’s conduction system, a network of muscle cells responsible for generating and conducting electrical impulses and coordinating cardiac contractions. The procedure was performed on a 70-year-old man with severe heart failure of ischemic origin, who had also developed a conduction disorder (left bundle branch block) as a result of the disease.

The procedure was carried out by a team from the 1st Chair and Department of Cardiology, consisting of Marcin Michalak, MD, and Łukasz Januszkiewicz, MD, PhD, with assisting staff: Dorota Świątek, MSc, Oleksandra Solohub, MSc, Katarzyna Zawiła, MSc, and Zuzanna Sawicka, MSc.

Benefits for patients

The implanted device belongs to the latest generation of systems designed for treating advanced heart failure with accompanying conduction disorders, including left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP). It is equipped with a range of specialized functions that allow cardiac resynchronization in a way that closely resembles physiological heart activity. 

Thanks to these features, patients gain greater safety and comfort. The pacing rate automatically adjusts to the patient’s level of activity, ensuring appropriate support both at rest and during physical activity. Advanced atrial therapies help stabilize the heart rhythm. Modern algorithms detect dangerous ventricular arrhythmias and select the appropriate therapy, either low- or high-energy therapy. Patients also benefit from advanced remote monitoring capabilities, which increase their sense of security and enable faster responses to changes in their health status. In addition, patients with such a device implanted can safely undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations.

An innovative clinic

“We are pleased that, as one of the first centers in Poland and Europe, we can provide our patients with the most modern and effective therapies,” emphasized Dr. Michalak after the procedure. “The use of left bundle branch pacing in resynchronization therapy is becoming an increasingly popular solution, and the latest cardiac electrotherapy devices allow us to make fuller use of the benefits of this form of stimulation.”

The team from the 1st Chair and Department of Cardiology, headed by Prof. Marcin Grabowski, has for many years been involved in introducing innovative solutions in the field of cardiac electrotherapy and often performs pioneering procedures in Poland aimed at improving heart function. The clinic also has modern equipment that allows even the most complex percutaneous procedures to be performed.