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Acorn Cardiovascular Inc.

Acorn Cardiovascular Inc. has developed a device for the treatment of congestive heart failure. It operates under the same theory as cardiac wrapping, but is less invasive and less costly. Acorn's "jacket" made of synthetic fibers surrounds the heart and constrains it, preventing the cascade of progressive enlargement and weakening that accompanies CHF. According to Acorn's president and CEO Donald G. Rohrbaugh, the jacket's fibers are knitted into a unique configuration designed to conform closely to the heart's exterior. Special compliance properties provide uniform contact so that there are no particular stress points. During implantation, the device is tailored to provide a 5% reduction in the diameter of the heart. That reduction immediately helps to absorb some of the stress in the heart's wall and allows the myocardium to recover. "It's like providing an elastic sock on a tired leg muscle," says Rohrbaugh. "It absorbs some of those fatiguing stresses, and when the myocardium recovers, the heart is able to improve its contractility and relaxation properties so that it pumps more efficiently."

Five million Americans are living with congestive heart failure (CHF), and 400,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. The disease can be caused by a number of factors – infections, blockages, leaky valves, hypertension, or alcohol abuse— but the result is always the same. Damage to the heart muscle impairs its pumping ability, and the heart enlarges or "remodels" to compensate for the reduced blood output. This pattern is repeated, ultimately resulting in a balloon-shaped heart that is too weak to support life. The New York Heart Association has developed a classification system for CHF, with Class I being the mildest, Class IV the most severe. Patients in the earliest stages of the disease have a 50% chance of dying within five years, and only 15% of patients diagnosed with CHF survive more than ten.

There is no cure for CHF, only therapies for controlling its symptoms. Heart transplant, the most definitive therapy, is available to only some 2,500 patients each year. Left ventricular or...

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