New Data Show Abbott's Heartmate 3 Heart Pump Extends Life Beyond Five Years for Advanced Heart Failure Patients

The MOMENTUM 3 study showcases the significant survival benefits of Abbott's heart pump technology, particularly in a patient population with limited therapy options

August 30, 2022 — Abbott announced new late-breaking data that show its HeartMate 3 heart pump extends survival of advanced heart failure patients by at least five years, providing a clear life-saving option for people battling later stage disease. The data are from the MOMENTUM 3 trial, the world's largest randomized clinical trial to assess long-term outcomes in people receiving a left ventricular assist device (known as an LVAD, or heart pump) to treat advanced heart failure. The data were presented during a late-breaking session at the 2022 European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

The MOMENTUM 3 trial studied more than 1000 patients and for the first time in a clinical trial setting found that people with advanced heart failure who received the HeartMate 3 heart pump lived beyond five years. The study showcases the significant benefits of Abbott's heart pump technology, particularly in a patient population who – without a heart pump or transplant – would have limited therapy options or would require living with inotropic medication to help strengthen their heart function, limiting their median survival to less than a year.

"The MOMENTUM 3 study proves that the HeartMate 3 heart pump has significantly moved the needle in terms of options for increasing life expectancy for our most advanced heart failure patients," said Divya Gupta, M.D., medical director of Advanced Heart Failure and Heart Transplantation at Emory Healthcare. "This research shows strong consideration should be given for this life-extending therapy for the thousands of people who are in advanced heart failure and meet the indications for the HeartMate 3."

Heart Pumps: A Life-Extending Option for Thousands

Historically, many advanced heart failure patients who don't qualify for a heart transplant rely on medication or are referred to palliative care to manage symptoms, but newer technological advancements like HeartMate 3 can provide this population another life-prolonging option. The benefits of heart pumps are especially true for the estimated2 15,000 advanced heart failure patients whose median lifespan is under a year because they are on inotropic medication alone. While some of these patients await a donor heart, due to a limited number of organs available, heart pumps like the HeartMate 3 can improve survival while offering immediate, significant and sustained quality of life.

The latest MOMENTUM 3 data also demonstrate that the five-year survival for HeartMate 3 patients (nearly 60%) is approaching the five-year survival rates of heart transplant recipients who have a similar risk profile.

"Thousands of people with advanced heart failure die every year because they do not receive a heart pump, largely because their physicians are not aware of the option or its full benefits," said Keith Boettiger, vice president of Abbott's heart failure business. "There are too many patients who aren't provided the opportunity to be evaluated for a heart pump, such as patients with obesity, diabetes, certain cancers and blood types or those from underserved communities across the United States. With broader awareness and improved access to a heart pump, we can give these patients a chance at a longer, fuller life."

More than 6.2 million Americans have heart failure, with diagnoses projected to double by 2030. Abbott's HeartMate 3 heart pump is an implantable device that pumps blood through the body in people whose heart is too weak to do so on its own. It is the only commercially approved heart pump with Full MagLev™ technology, which allows the device's rotor to be "suspended" by magnetic forces, a unique design that has been proven to reduce trauma to blood passing through the pump, improving patient survival and quality of life. These factors along with its ability to produce an artificial pulse, results in the lowest rate of pump-related complications of any other blood pump.

"The finding that the HeartMate 3 device can reliably add years to one's life is compelling evidence for all cardiologists to evaluate their patients with progressive heart failure for this therapy," said Daniel J. Goldstein, M.D., surgical director, Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Cardiac Transplantation at Montefiore Medical Center. "Earlier referral and intervention are critical for this population where it can be challenging to make an accurate diagnosis from physical symptoms alone. The latest MOMENTUM trial data help contextualize the benefits of heart pumps and will help more physicians work with their patients to explore this life-enhancing and life-prolonging alternative as their disease moves into the territory of advanced heart failure."

About the MOMENTUM 3 Five Year Data

The MOMENTUM 3 study data compared Abbott's HeartMate 3 pump to its HeartMate II pump in treating people with advanced (New York Heart Association Class IIIB or IV) heart failure. Analysis of the study's full cohort of patients after five years showed the following benefits:

Established superiority of the HeartMate 3 over the HeartMate II
The HeartMate 3 goes beyond its two-year outcomes identified in previous MOMENTUM 3 studies to become a true life-extending option. Results of the five-year study showed an improved survival rate of 58% with the HeartMate 3 (vs. 44% with the HeartMate II).

HeartMate 3 Demonstrated Reduced Morbidity and Mortality

Greater survival for HeartMate 3 patients was largely associated with a reduction in deaths due to stroke, clotting and bleeding compared to the HeartMate II.