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A medical breakthrough at the Montreal Heart Institute: Successful implantations with a percutaneous mitral valve

2012, October 26, 2012

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate distribution

A medical breakthrough at the Montreal Heart Institute: Successful implantations with a percutaneous mitral valve

Montréal, October 26, 2012 – Today, the preliminary results of a Canadian study on the testing of a new percutaneous mitral valve at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) were presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference, the world's largest meeting in vascular medicine, which is taking place this year in Miami, Florida. Designed by Neovasc Inc. and developed in collaboration with a team of MHI cardiologists, this new bioprosthesis has been used in over thirty implantations to date. Showing great promise for humans, the valve could help 35% of patients suffering from mitral regurgitation, or thousands of people who are currently inoperable.

The percutaneous prosthetic valves were implanted by a multidisciplinary team at the MHI made up of cardiologists Dr. Marc Jolicoeur, Dr. Jean-François Tanguay and Dr. Patrick Garceau and cardiac surgeon Dr. Raymond Cartier. "This new device represents a major advance for patients suffering from mitral valve failure and who can't find relief from traditional treatment, such as pharmacological or surgical options or interventional catheterization," stated Dr. Marc Jolicoeur, an MHI cardiologist involved in this study and Assistant Professor at Université de Montréal.

The catheter-mounted prosthesis is introduced into the left ventricle through a cutaneous incision barely five centimetres wide, meaning that open-heart surgery is not required for the procedure. Made with smart biomaterial, the valve is self-expandable and can therefore attach itself to the new wall. Sophisticated internal architecture also prevents detachment once the device is in place. In current conditions, the prosthesis can be implanted in less than 5 minutes, or the time between the heart incision and the removal of the heart catheter.

An international medical breakthrough

During the TCT conference, this valve was recognized as one of the top 10 innovations in the field of interventional cardiology for 2012. Conclusive results from the procedures with this valve were also published on October 9, 2012 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

About mitral valve failure

Mitral valve failure is one of the most frequent heart valve diseases in humans. It affects approximately one out of five Canadians aged 55 and over. This pathology occurs when the heart's mitral valve does not close properly, causing pumped blood that collects in the left ventricle to back up into the left atrium. The mild form of the disease generally does not have an impact on health. Its more severe form can lead to heart failure, for which open-heart surgery is the current treatment standard.

To learn more about the MHI, visit our website at: www.icm-mhi.org

For more information about Neovasc Inc., go to: www.neovasc.com

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Information:

Marie-Josée Nantel
Communications Officer
Montreal Heart Institute
514-376-3330, extension 2641
marie-josee.nantel@icm-mhi.org

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