REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HeartFlow, Inc. today announced that seven new commercial payers issued positive medical policies covering the use of the HeartFlow® FFRct Analysis following a coronary computed tomography angiogram (CCTA). The HeartFlow Analysis is a non-invasive technology that creates a personalized 3D model of the heart and simulates blood flow to help clinicians diagnose and treat patients with suspected heart disease.
The positive medical policies were issued by Cigna; Florida Blue; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans of Michigan, North Carolina, and Vermont; Highmark, Inc.; and Independence Blue Cross. Commercial coverage for the HeartFlow Analysis is now available for approximately 130 million patients, in addition to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recent decision to assign a New Technology APC payment for the HeartFlow FFRct Analysis for more than 55 million Medicare beneficiaries.
“These positive coverage decisions reinforce the clinical and economic value of the HeartFlow Analysis in addressing how heart disease is diagnosed and treated,” said John H. Stevens, M.D., president and chief executive officer of HeartFlow. “With the growing momentum of coverage, a wealth of scientific evidence, and unparalleled technology, the HeartFlow Analysis is poised to become the standard of care for patients with suspected heart disease.”
Coronary artery disease (CAD) affects 16.8 million Americans,i and develops when the coronary arteries narrow, reducing blood flow to the heart and causing chest pain (angina), heart attack (myocardial infarction) and death. The HeartFlow Analysis is the first and only commercially available non-invasive technology to provide insight into both the extent of CAD and the impact of the disease on blood flow to the heart.
About the HeartFlow FFRct Analysis
Clinicians diagnosing
someone with suspected CAD want to know as definitively as possible if
the individual has a significant blockage in their coronary arteries.
They also want to know the impact of that blockage on blood flow so they
can best determine which treatment pathway is appropriate (e.g., medical
management, stenting or coronary artery bypass grafting).
Data from a patient’s non-invasive CCTA are securely uploaded from the hospital’s system to the cloud. HeartFlow leverages deep learning to create a personalized, digital 3D model of the patient’s coronary arteries. The HeartFlow Analysis then uses powerful computer algorithms to solve millions of complex equations to simulate blood flow and assess the impact of blockages on coronary blood flow. The HeartFlow FFRct Analyses are provided to clinicians via a secure web interface to offer actionable information on the optimal course of treatment. To date, clinicians around the world have chosen the HeartFlow Analysis for more than 15,000 patients to aid in the diagnosis of heart disease.
This technology has been demonstrated to reduce unnecessary and invasive diagnostic coronary angiography procedures, which can be associated with bleeding, stroke, major blood vessel damage and other serious complications. It also significantly reduces healthcare costs for hospitals.ii
About HeartFlow, Inc.
HeartFlow, Inc. is transforming the
way cardiovascular disease is diagnosed and treated. The company’s
HeartFlow® FFRct Analysis is a non-invasive solution that
enables a physician to more appropriately evaluate whether an individual
has significant coronary artery disease (CAD) based on both anatomy and
physiology. The HeartFlow FFRct Analysis, which leverages deep learning
to create a personalized 3D model of the heart, is well positioned to
become an integral part of the standard of care for patients who are at
risk for CAD because of its potential to improve both clinical outcomes
and the patient experience while reducing the cost of care. The
HeartFlow FFRct Analysis is commercially available in the United States,
Canada, Europe and Japan. For more information visit www.heartflow.com.
i https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2787400/.
ii
Douglas PS, DeBruyne B, Pontone G., Patel MR, et al. One-year outcomes
of FFRCT-guided care in patients with suspected coronary disease: The
PLATFORM Study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2016;68(5),435-45.
