Zoll has announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the SSCORE registry, a prospective study designed to assess the efficacy of SuperSaturated Oxygen (SSO2) therapy to reduce heart failure and mortality in patients suffering from left anterior descending ST-elevation myocardial infarction (LAD STEMI).
LAD STEMI heart attacks are often referred to as “widow makers” due to the high mortality rate associated with this condition. SSCORE will collect data to substantiate the potential improvement in overall healthcare costs associated with prevention of heart failure versus a lifetime of palliative treatment strategies.
The Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, a partner of Allina Health with multiple locations in Minneapolis, USA, is an early adopter of the SSO2 therapy, leading to the position as first enroller in the study.
“These patients with LAD occlusion are at significant risk. Opening the artery is the first step but using SSO2 to further decrease infarct size is vital. This patient had an acute proximal LAD occlusion and I wanted to give him the best chance of preserving his heart function,” stated M Nicolas Burke, director of Cardiovascular Emergency Services at Abbott Northwestern, who treated the first patient enrolled in SSCORE nationwide.
“Enrolling the first patient in the SSCORE study marks a significant milestone in advancing the use of SuperSaturated Oxygen Therapy to treat the most severe heart attacks,” said Matt Rochner, general manager of Zoll TherOx. “SSO2 Therapy has the potential to not only improve patient outcomes but also reduce the long-term costs of managing heart failure, a significant healthcare challenge. Our partnership with the Minneapolis Heart Institute and Allina Health allows us to advance this cutting-edge technology by collecting more evidence-based clinical and economic data, positioning SSO2 Therapy to become the standard of care for LAD STEMI patients.”
Patients with LAD STEMI heart attacks have higher mortality rates than those with other types of heart attacks.
SSO2 Therapy a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment that is intended to significantly reduce damage to cardiac muscle in heart attack patients after coronary angioplasty with stenting.
SSO2 Therapy is indicated as an adjunct for patients who suffer LAD STEMI and are treated with traditional stenting within six hours of chest pain onset. The therapy delivers high levels of dissolved oxygen (seven–10 times the amount normally found in the bloodstream) directly to the damaged heart muscle immediately after the coronary artery has been successfully opened via angioplasty and stenting.
Clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of SSO2 Therapy to reduce infarct size, a strong predictor of subsequent outcomes.
“The focus on reducing infarct size and improving microvascular function with SSO2 in the cath lab versus palliation of disease is a logical strategy that has been long awaited in this field,” said Jay Traverse, principal investigator and researcher at Allina’s Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, and an interventional cardiologist at Allina’s Minneapolis Heart Institute.
“Persistently high readmission rates for these patients, who often develop heart failure following standard-of-care stenting of the LAD, have been an ongoing challenge for over two decades. SuperSaturated Oxygen Therapy has shown great promise to alleviate this problem, which improves the quality of life for the patient while relieving the financial burden on the healthcare system as a whole. We are excited to participate in this trial and look forward to seeing positive outcomes.”
