Heart Institute Recognized as First to Enroll Patient in PROACT Xa Clinical Trial

The Heart Institute’s Dr. Thomas Rayburn III, and Lynn Bass have been recognized for their contributions to the PROACT Xa clinical trial and high-priority heart care research.

The Heart Institute is working with the cardiac and vascular surgery company CryoLife, Inc. on a trial to answer vital clinical questions in the care of heart patients who receive mechanical heart valves.

CHI St. Vincent was the first participating research partner to enroll a patient in the randomized, clinical trial which will include approximately 1,000 patients across the U.S. and Canada. The research is part of a Linked Clinical Research Centers seven-year initiative through the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), part of the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

The Heart Institute announced in August 2019 that it would partner with Penn Medicine as one of five qualified institutions nationwide to participate in the research program in order to accelerate high-priority clinical research efforts related to heart surgery and implement novel approaches into surgical practice.