V-Wave Interatrial Shunt to Treat Heart Failure

V-Wave interatrial shunt is intended to relieve HF symptoms by reducing elevated left atrial pressure, a common feature of HF. This elevated left atrial pressure causes a backup of blood in the lungs, leading to pulmonary congestion and breathing difficulty. V-Wave device implantation would disrupt patient management for HF, which traditionally relies on office-based drug therapy.

To implant the V-Wave shunt, a physician inserts a specialized catheter into the femoral vein at the groin and threads it up into the heart's right atrium to create an opening in the septum, the wall separating the left and right atrial chambers. The stent-like scaffold is designed to keep the transseptal puncture open.

This new opening purportedly lowers left atrial pressure and helps reduce pulmonary congestion by allowing blood to cross into the low-pressure right atrium. ...