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Brett C. Sheridan, M.D.
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Jason Katz, M.D., M.H.S.

Nov. 19, 2015

UNC is among 60 U.S. medical centers chosen to participate in a clinical trial of the in the MOMENTUM 3 Clinical Trial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the Thoratec® HeartMate 3™ Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS). This multi-center study will compare the HeartMate 3 LVAS to the HeartMate II® LVAD in advanced-stage heart failure patients.

Brett Sheridan, M.D., a cardiac surgeon and associate professor of surgery in the UNC Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, is a principal investigator for the trial. Dr. Sheridan is surgical director of Mechanical Circulatory Support and Transplantation at UNC Hospitals. Jason Katz, M.D.. M.H.S., an assistant professor of medicine in the UNC Division of Cardiology and medical director of UNC’s Mechanical Heart Program, is the other principal investigator at UNC.

The HeartMate 3 is an investigational implantable device that helps to circulate blood throughout the body. It supplements the pumping function of the heart in patients whose hearts are too week to adequately circulate blood on their own. The Thoratec HeartMate II is the most commonly implanted LVAD and has supported well over 20,000 patients with end-stage heart disease but, Jason Katz, MD, said that the HeartMate 3 investigational device has many added features that may help to reduce the risk of complications and improve patient outcomes. The MOMENTUM 3 Clinical Trial is designed to evaluate the performance and safety of the HeartMate 3 at six months of LVAD support in subjects with advanced heart failure.

The study will evaluate the device for long-term and short-term use: long-term support for patients who are not candidates for heart transplantation and short-term support for patients who are awaiting heart transplantation.