Medtronic - CG Future® COMPOSITE Annuloplasty Ring

Medtronic, Inc. has introduced the Medtronic used by heart surgeons to repair - rather than replace - a mitral valve that is narrowed or leaking. The new CG Future COMPOSITE Ring is the industry's first annuloplasty product providing both semi-rigid posterior remodeling and fully flexible anterior support, thereby allowing physiologic movement throughout the cardiac cycle.

During mitral valve repair, the surgeon seeks to restore, or "remodel," a narrowed, prolapsed or leaking valve to a more-normal shape and leaflet alignment, thus restoring its functionality. The new Medtronic CG Future® COMPOSITE Annuloplasty Ring incorporates a flexible anterior segment seamlessly connected to a semi-rigid posterior metal portion. The composite design is engineered to support and hold the rear of the valve in alignment while allowing optimum physiological movement for the front of the valve throughout the cardiac cycle. The radiopaque device's firm, yet flexible, construction combines with its low bulk, low profile, and innovative anchoring eyelets designed for strength and predictable, time-efficient implantation.

CG Future® COMPOSITE Ring

When functioning normally, the dome-shaped mitral valve controls blood flow from the lungs, closing tightly under the pressure of freshly oxygenated blood when the heart contracts, then opening when the heart relaxes. Blood then flows into the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber, where it is pumped throughout the body's circulatory system with the next heartbeat. Weakness, shortness of breath, excessive perspiration and nausea are common symptoms of mitral valve insufficiency, which is sometimes congenital but may also be caused by tissue overgrowth, infection or damage from heart attacks.