How the Barostim Device Is Helping People With Advanced Heart Failure

Even with medications and lifestyle changes, heart failure symptoms like fatigue, weakness and shortness of breath can still have a major impact on your daily life. 

With heart failure, “the heart is not able to meet the demands of the body for day-to-day functioning,” says Kanika P Mody, M.D., heart failure and transplant specialist at Hackensack University Medical Center. “As it progresses, it gets to the point where it interferes with basic activities.”

If you’re still experiencing symptoms, despite being treated for heart failure, your doctor may consider an additional therapy called Barostim. 

Here’s what the device is and how it can help you feel better in your everyday life.

What Is Barostim? 

Barostim is a device that’s implanted in your upper chest to help improve symptoms of advanced heart failure. It was approved by the FDA in 2019. It’s usually considered when medications and lifestyle changes aren’t enough to control symptoms.

“Barostim can be used to really halt the progression of heart failure in a way that works with the body’s natural chemistry,” says Dr. Mody.

How Does It Work? 

To understand how Barostim works, it helps to know what happens when you have heart failure. 

As heart failure progresses, the body goes into a fight-or-flight state, and stress levels climb, says Dr. Mody. That puts more strain on your heart, which can worsen your symptoms over time. 

Barostim helps calm your body’s stress signals by targeting sensors in the carotid arteries — the large blood vessels in your neck — that help regulate your body’s stress response. The device sends electrical pulses to these blood vessels, which helps relax them and reduces the workload on your heart.

What Are the Benefits? 

Barostim eases the symptoms that make heart failure hard to live with, like fatigue, low energy and shortness of breath. Many patients notice better exercise tolerance and quality of life once the device reaches its full effect, says Dr. Mody. 

Some also find that they can cut back on certain medications, she notes.

Who Is a Good Candidate? 

Barostim is typically an option if you have advanced heart failure and still have symptoms after taking standard medications and making lifestyle changes. To decide whether it’s right for you, your care team looks at how well your heart is working, how severe your symptoms are and how you’ve responded to other heart failure treatments. 

If Barostim seems like a good fit, you’ll meet with a vascular surgeon, who usually performs the procedure. They’ll check your blood vessels to make sure the device can be placed safely, says Dr. Mody. Once it’s clear the procedure is right for you and insurance approves it, your surgery can be scheduled.

What Is the Procedure Like? 

Dr. Mody calls Barostim “a very straightforward, simple surgery.” It’s often done in a hospital as an outpatient procedure. 

You’re given anesthesia first, so you won’t feel any pain. Your surgeon makes a small incision in your neck to place a lead on the carotid artery; then, they make an incision in your upper chest to implant the device. Finally, they test the system to make sure it’s working. 

The whole thing takes about an hour, and most people go home the same day or the following day, says Dr. Mody.

What’s Next for Barostim Research? 

Barostim is being studied in a trial called BENEFIT-HF. One group includes people who already qualify for the device, and a second includes those who may benefit but are not approved for it yet. 

The goal is to gather more real-world data on how the Barostim device performs in everyday practice and which patients it can help, says Dr. Mody. Hackensack University Medical Center will be one of the trial sites.

“What’s nice about the trial setup is that participants will have a little bit more oversight,” says Dr. Mody. That extra attention can reassure good candidates who still feel unsure about the procedure.

Next Steps & Resources:

• Meet our source(s): Kanika P. Mody, M.D.
• Make an appointment online with a heart failure specialist near you, or call 800-822-8905. 
• Learn more about heart failure care at HMH.