Abbott [NYSE: ABT]

Michael Dale

In the past century, the global average life expectancy has more than doubled and is expected to increase even further in the coming decades, making it imperative that health solutions keep up with the needs that accompany our longer lives. Meeting the needs of an aging population requires innovation and improvements in effectiveness and efficiency for today’s solutionsto ensure we can help the greatest number of people.

For more than 130 years, Abbott has been helping people live longer, healthier lives by developing solutions that solve some of the world’s biggest health issues. In particular, Abbott’s cardiovascular businesses have been focused on significantly expanding its portfolio to address the critical unmet needs of people with complex heart issues. In some cases, technologies available today – such as new solutions for mitral valve disease – were simply ideas just a matter of years ago.

Aiding an Aging Population

It is estimated that there will be 1.6 billion people over the age of 60 by 2030,with valvular heart disease expected to cause an increase in public-health problems in the coming years, especially for the aging population. In fact, one in 10 people over 65 years old will face moderate to severe valve disease. As valve disease progresses, the heart’s ability to deliver oxygenated blood to the body is disrupted, creating a number of challenges that impacts quality of life and related serious health problems.

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is one of the most common heartconditions, impacting roughly four million people in the U.S. and millions of others around the world. MR is a progressive condition where the mitral valve does not close completely, allowing blood to flow backward into the left atrium instead of out of the heart and to the rest of the body. In 2008, Abbott announced approval and launch of MitraClip™ in Europe. MitraClip isthe world’s first transcatheter mitral valve repair therapy, more recently referred to as transcatheter edge-to-edge repair,that repairs leaky mitral valves through a minimally invasive procedure. Before MitraClip, open-heart surgery was the standard treatment for MR, but not all patients are eligible or appropriate for open-heart surgery due to the potential risk of complications for invasive surgery.

Abbott pioneered repair for the mitral valve through MitraClip, andithas changed the way physicians approach treating patients with MR, improving their quality of life.We continue to advance the device by incorporatingthe latest technologies and capabilities into newer generations of MitraClip. Now on its fourth generation, the latest iteration of the device offers physicians independently controlled valve grippers, advanced steering during implantation and four clip sizes, to provide more treatment options that can be tailored to a patient's unique mitral valve anatomy.MitraClipnow has Medicare broad reimbursement, including for people with secondary MR resulting from heart failure, significantly expanding access to the therapy.

"The stories of patients motivate employees at Abbott to drive continued innovation for heart and other health conditions, taking valuable key learnings and applying them to existing and new technology."

Today, MitraClipis approved in more than 75 countries and has been used by physicians to help more than 150,000 people with MR since it became available.

Changing Lives One Patient at a Time

We’ve seen how ourproducts have bettered the lives of those with heart conditions, andhave been inspired by the strength of each patient, including 78-year-oldMitraClip recipient Carolyn Cross. In 2016, Carolyn had a heart attack just three days after the passing of her beloved husband.She received two stents to open up clogged arteries that evening.Even after the two stents, she continued to suffer shortness of breath and fluid retention. After more than 10 hospitalizations, she received Abbott’s CardioMEMS™ HF System to help her physicians proactively manage her congestive heart failure symptoms. However even with these interventions, Carolyn felt terrible and was ultimately diagnosed with MR. Each day felt uncertain for Carolyn as she didn’t know if her health would take an unexpected turn, making it difficult to find joy in simple things, like playing with her grandchildren or going on walks with her friends.

Early that next year, Carolyn’s doctors determined she was a candidate for MitraClip. After an overnight stay following her procedure, she felt a significant difference in her energy and staminaas blood flow through her mitral valve was normalized. With the MitraClip implant, Carolyn felt empowered to reclaim her active lifestyle.

Where We Go From Here

Carolyn’s story is just one example of how Abbott’s life-changing technology can impact people’s lives. The stories of patients motivate employees at Abbott to drive continued innovation for heart and other health conditions, taking valuable key learnings and applying them to existing and new technology.

Our structural heart therapies offer hope to people around the world and we believe, in time, will become the new standard of care due to their safe, effective, durable and less invasive nature. While there continues to be much more work to be done to ensure health solutions are meeting the needs of people around the world, Abbott is proud to bring forward new solutions and products across its broad portfolio, and remains committed to helping people live their best lives.