ARTICLE SUMMARY:
Addressing heart failure, Levron Cardiovascular synchronizes the body's "respiratory" pump with the heart beat, to shift fluid out of the lungs and boost outflow from the left ventricle. In essence, the concept turns a physiological interaction that normally exists in the body into a therapeutic advantage. A companion article to "Innovating Heart Failure: Start-Ups Harness Natural Pathways."
Levron Cardiovascular has invented a new category of devices that treats heart failure by leveraging innate physiological mechanisms to shift fluid out of the lungs and reduce the workload of the heart. It thus presents a relatively low-risk proposition, according to CEO Amir Ronen. “We’re taking an approach that is simple, low risk, and elegant to help patients,” he says.
It all starts with the cardio-respiratory system and so-called “respiratory pump,” that is, the relationship between the lungs and heart, or rather, how breathing cycles naturally assist the heart. The respiratory pump modulates the intrathoracic (pleural) pressure, and in an intriguing contrast, the right and left ventricles respond oppositely to changes in intrathoracic pressure.
