Heart disease is expected to spike over the next 25 years among younger women, according to a new warning from the American Heart Association.<\/p>\n
Doctors at Jefferson Einstein Hospital are now using an FDA-approved device that is like a pacemaker and is making a difference for people with heart failure.<\/p>\n
Tonia Pezzano is among a growing number of younger women with cardiovascular disease. She was diagnosed with heart failure when she was 41 years old.<\/p>\n
“It was horrifying,” Pezzano said.<\/p>\n
Pezzano was pregnant at the time.<\/p>\n
“That’s just scary because now you don’t know what’s going to happen with the baby and, you know, or myself,” Pezzano said.<\/p>\n
After the baby was born in 2018, Pezzano got a pacemaker, but she still struggled with symptoms.<\/p>\n
“I just was exhausted all the time,” Pezzano said.<\/p>\n
In December, Dr. Sumeet Mainigi at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital implanted a second device called a cardiac contractility modulation device, or CCM.<\/p>\n
“It typically gets implanted in the shoulder area like a pacemaker,” Mainigi said.<\/p>\n
The CCM is connected to the heart, providing electrical impulses that help improve function.<\/p>\n
“The device will stimulate the heart at a very specific time during the heart’s contraction,” Mainigi said, “and that helps to release more calcium in the heart and make the heart contract stronger. It’s really a great godsend.”<\/p>\n
“I’m usually here every six months for my devices,” Pezzano said.<\/p>\n
She said the second device did the trick.<\/p>\n
“I am able to do just simple things,” Pezzano said. “I’m able to walk up and downstairs. I have two little kids, so I’m able to keep up with them.”<\/p>\n
Now at 48, she’s living with heart failure that’s managed mainly with the help of the CCM.<\/p>\n
“It’s definitely been life-changing,” Pezzano said.<\/p>\n
In addition to the two devices, Pezzano’s heart failure is also controlled with medications.<\/p>\n