{"id":7814,"date":"2025-08-19T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7814"},"modified":"2025-08-19T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:30:00","slug":"new-heart-care-technology-improves-veterans-quality-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7814","title":{"rendered":"New Heart Care technology improves Veterans\u2019 quality of life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-08-19T14:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

Veterans at Houston VA<\/a> will benefit from a groundbreaking advancement in heart care<\/a>, as the facility recently became the first hospital in the Houston Texas Medical Center to implement the revolutionary Cardiac Contractility Modulation Device (CCM-D).\u00a0This milestone marks a significant advancement in the treatment of heart failure, a condition that in the past carried a poor prognosis and remains the leading cause of death in the United States.<\/p>\n

The CCM-D device represents a step forward in cardiac care, combining the life-saving protection of an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) with cardiac contractility modulation into a single, rechargeable device that is implanted into the chest. The device can improve heart failure symptoms while simultaneously protecting against sudden cardiac death. This innovative therapy enhances not only survival but also quality of life for patients with heart failure.<\/p>\n

A new era in Cardiology<\/h2>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s an exciting time to be an advanced heart failure cardiologist,\u201d said Dr. Steve Antoine, a cardiologist at Houston VA and an assistant professor<\/a> at Baylor College of Medicine. \u201cFor too long, heart disease has carried a prognosis worse than many cancers. But we\u2019ve entered a new era in medicine, where our technological advances are finally catching up to the clinical unmet needs of our patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giving Veterans hope<\/h2>\n

Among the first Veterans to receive the CCM-D device was Army Veteran Springer Watson. After years of battling heart failure, Watson is looking forward to a bright future. \u201cI\u2019m excited about getting out and about more,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter getting this device just a few weeks ago, I am feeling a little better every day and I\u2019m looking forwarding to increasing my exercise and getting back to my old self.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Hamid Afshar<\/a>, a cardiac interventional electrophysiologist at Houston VA, shares Watson\u2019s sentiments. \u201cThe ability to offer the CCM-D device to our Veterans is a game changer,\u201d he said. \u201cIn addition to treating the life-threatening arrhythmia, the CCM-D device also has the potential to significantly improve their daily lives and provide them with the quality of care they deserve.\u00a0This is just the beginning of what we can achieve in advanced heart failure management.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research shows a higher incidence of heart failure among Veterans compared to the general population, making the CCM-D technology especially important to Houston VA\u2019s large patient population.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the first VA facility to implant the CCM-D device, Houston VA is committed to cutting-edge care and innovation in the field of cardiology,\u201d Antoine said. \u201cWe\u2019re no longer satisfied with simply extending life; we want to improve the quality of that life. Being able to offer this transformative therapy to our Veterans who have given so much in service to our country, and it makes this milestone more meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Houston VA became the first VA Medical Center to utilize new technology to improve the quality of life for Veterans with heart failure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-health-care"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Heart Care technology improves Veterans\u2019 quality of life - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Houston VA became the first VA Medical Center to utilize new technology to improve the quality of life for Veterans with heart failure.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7814\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Heart Care technology improves Veterans\u2019 quality of life - 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