Support Hose For A Broken Heart

By David Bjerklie

What do you do when your heart starts to bloat and sag? You could try to prop it up. That's the idea behind the CorCap Cardiac Support Device, a mesh wrap fashioned to fit like a support stocking around the heart to relieve the stress created when the organ becomes enlarged, usually from trying to compensate for damage caused by heart attacks, valve disorders or high blood pressure. In a study of 300 patients, the CorCap reportedly helped enlarged hearts return to a more normal size and shape. The cardiac support hose is still experimental, and implanting it involves major surgery, but developers will seek FDA approval early next year. Meanwhile, makers of the CorCap hope they can devise a way to put it in place less invasively. --By David Bjerklie