Spectrum Health Cardiologists Use Filtration System to Treat Effects of Heart Failure

Aquapheresis Safely Lowers Fluid Volume

Spectrum Health physicians treating heart failure patients with significant fluid levels in their bodies are using a relatively new tool to lower those levels when drug therapy is not effective. Some patients suffering from fluid overload at the Spectrum Health Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center are benefiting from a medical therapy called aquapheresis to remove excess salt and water from the body.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) patients often suffer from fluid overload, an excess of fluid in the body. The excess fluid, primarily sodium and water, builds up in various locations in the body and leads to an increase in weight, swelling in the legs and arms in the abdomen and congestion in the lungs causing difficulty in breathing.

“The majority of hospitalizations for CHF patients are for shortness of breath due to fluid overload,” said Michael Dickinson, MD, medical director of Spectrum Health’s heart failure program. “When patients require hospitalization for this problem, the primary treatment remains the use of diuretic drugs such as Lasix, which helps the body shed extra fluid. If that treatment is ineffective or strains a patient’s kidneys, then aquapheresis is considered.”

Aquapheresis involves the placement of a catheter in the bloodstream that continuously runs the patient’s blood through a filter. Excess fluid is removed and blood is returned to the patient, explained Dickinson. Physicians can specify and adjust the exact amount and rate of fluid to be removed from each patient, resulting in a gradual reduction that has no significant clinical impact on blood pressure, heart rate, or the balance of electrolytes (chemical substances, such as sodium, potassium, and chloride) in the body.

Up to 500 milliliters or 1.1 pounds of fluid can be safely removed per hour. The average removal rate is 250 milliliters or ½ pound per hour and treatment usually lasts between 48 and 72 hours. “Studies have shown that the total hospital stay with aquapheresis therapy is about three to four days. We’ve had some significant results,” said Dickinson.

The aquapheresis filtering system is manufactured by by Gambro – Americas, CHF Solutions and received final FDA approval in 2003. Since then two national studies have supported the device’s effectiveness. This therapy is part of a growing number of treatment options offered through Spectrum Health’s heart failure program.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan that offers a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, a collection of seven hospitals and more than 140 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group, mmpc® and West Michigan Heart-physician groups totaling more than 400 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with nearly 580,000 members. Spectrum Health’s 16,000 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,200 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care. The organization provided $79.4 million in community benefit during its 2009 fiscal year. As a system, Spectrum Health has earned more than 100 awards since it was formed in 1997.