CCM stands for cardiac contractility modulation therapy, a treatment that may be an option for people who aren’t adequately responding to heart failure medications.[i] CCM is delivered by an implantable pulse generator called an Optimizer that is similar in size to a pacemaker.
As heart failure progresses, the heart slowly weakens and is not able to pump with the force required to supply oxygen-rich blood to meet the body’s needs. Symptoms can make everyday activities, such as walking, challenging. They include breathlessness, fatigue, confusion, and swelling in the legs. Most people are prescribed medications intended to slow the progression of the disease and manage their symptoms. As the condition progresses, these medications lose their effectiveness, and the quality of life for people with heart failure continues to decline.
CCM therapy has been proven safe and effective in numerous clinical studies, including several randomized controlled trials, and the results have been published in more than 80 articles in leading medical journals.[ii]
How CCM Works
Learn about Heart Failure and CCM Therapy here.
The Optimizer device is similar in size to a pacemaker that is implanted during a minimally invasive procedure while the patient is under light sedation.
During the procedure, the Optimizer device is implanted under the skin of the upper chest, along with electrical leads that are placed in the heart’s right ventricle through the veins (transcatheter).
After the procedure, the physician programs the delivery of CCM therapy for each patient and activates the device. The implanted device then sends electrical pulses to the heart muscle for five hours a day, in one-hour treatments separated by regular intervals.
From the comfort of home, patients can charge their Optimizer device each week for one hour using an external charger. The Optimizer has been rigorously tested and is expected to provide CCM therapy for up to 20 years before requiring replacement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Could CCM be right for me?
Consider these questions to see if CCM therapy may be right for you or a loved one:
If you answered “yes” to a majority of these questions, contact your cardiologist to schedule an appointment to discuss CCM therapy with a cardiologist at South Denver Cardiology Associates. Or contact the Transitional Heart Failure Clinic call: 303-715-2203 to learn more about CCM.
Is the Optimizer device like a pacemaker or a defibrillator?
In some ways, yes, for example, both are electrical devices implanted under the skin of the upper chest, and they each use leads to deliver therapy to the heart muscle. But that’s where the similarities end.
Unlike a pacemaker or defibrillator, Optimizer devices deliver CCM therapy during the non-excitatory or absolute refractory period of the cardiac cycle. Instead of actually causing a contraction, CCM therapy is designed to cause subsequent beats of the heart to be stronger or more forceful, which can result in more oxygen-rich blood delivered to the body with each beat.
A pacemaker is used to treat slow heart rhythm disturbances, which are symptomatic. Defibrillators can do that and deliver lifesaving therapy when/if patients experience life-threatening electrical disturbances called arrhythmias. Cardiac contractility modulation is used to treat patients with heart failure to make their hearts beat stronger and make them feel better.
Is CCM therapy covered by insurance?
CCM is covered by Medicare and Medicare Advantage as well as by several commercial insurance companies.
[i] 2018 Abraham, et al., JACC Heart Failure – A randomized controlled trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cardiac contractility modulation – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchf.2018.04.010
[ii] https://impulse-dynamics.com/providers/clinical-trials/