Centers of Distinction
OPTIMIST Program

For the majority of Americans with heart disease, traditional medical approaches — including lifestyle changes, medication, angioplasty and surgery — offer a clear and successful answer to the problems they face.

But for others — despite the best efforts of physicians and other caregivers — these traditional approaches have not worked. Their heart disease has a real, ongoing impact on their daily activities, their relationships with others and the quality of their lives. For many of these individuals, it may seem that there are no other options and no real hope for the future.

At the Minneapolis Heart Institute, we don’t see it that way. Where others may see a dead end, we see the opportunity to take a different road.

The OPTIMIST Program offers new approaches to improve quality of life for individuals who have coronary artery disease with complex blockages that make angioplasty or surgery difficult or impossible, and for those with chronic angina who do not respond to common treatments. Our program’s name — OPTIMIST — stands for OPTions in Myocardial Ischemic Syndrome Therapy. For us, it is more than a handy acronym. It means helping patients who might have thought they were beyond help.

OPTIMIST Program Alternatives

Patients who join the OPTIMIST Program have access — in one location — to a range of treatment options, suited to their individual needs and health status. All of our patients meet with nurses and physicians from our staff to decide, together, on the best treatment or research option. Those options include:

1. Angiogenesis Research: The OPTIMIST Program at the Minneapolis Heart Institute was created as a systematic way to screen coronary artery disease patients whose angina is not controlled with medications and who cannot have coronary artery bypass or angioplasty. Patients meet with our nurses and doctors and together they decide the best treatment or research option. These options may include coronary angiogenesis research, spinal cord stimulation research, Enhanced External Counterpulsation therapy, new medications or combination therapies, i.e., surgery plus angiogenesis, surgery plus Transmyocardial Laser Revascularization.
2. Coronary Angiogenesis Research: Angiogenesis research is the study of growth hormones used to increase the blood supply to areas in need of more blood. Two of these growth hormones (proteins), Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) have been studied in Phase I and Phase II trials. They are naturally produced in the human body to start the growth of tiny arteries, called collateral vessels, in areas where blood flow is limited. For example, when the arteries that deliver blood to your heart muscle, called coronary arteries, are narrowed or blocked, your body will secrete FGF and VEGF to grow new collateral vessels. These new arteries will deliver blood flow to the areas that are not getting enough blood. However, collateral vessels are much smaller than the major arteries in your heart and deliver smaller amounts of blood flow to the heart muscle. Sometimes patients do not grow enough collateral vessels to prevent angina (chest pain) from occurring. Angina occurs because of a decreased supply of blood to the heart. This is where angiogenesis research may help. By giving more of what your body produces naturally, that is, growth hormones specially designed to create blood vessels, such as VEGF and FGF, new blood vessels may be grown which will improve the blood supply to the heart and decrease angina.
3. EECP: Enhanced External Counterpulsation, or EECP, is a FDA-approved therapy for the treatment of angina in patients who cannot have coronary artery bypass surgery or angioplasty. EECP is a non-invasive treatment that has been proven to decrease or even eliminate angina (chest pain). Angina happens when the heart does not get enough oxygen, possibly because of a narrowed or blocked artery reducing the amount of blood going to the heart muscle. EECP works by stimulating the creation or opening of tiny new blood vessels to increase the amount of blood going to the heart muscle with each heart beat.
4. New Drugs: In our quest to improve the quality of life for our patients, new drugs for the treatment of angina are studied. Most recently, we have studied Ranolazine and LArginine.

Since 2001 the Minneapolis Heart Institute’s OPTIMIST Program has been committed to finding new options. Our ongoing research focuses on finding new approaches or using existing treatments in beneficial new combinations.

Physicians and staff

The physicians and staff of the OPTIMIST Program understand the frustration of not being able to find a solution to a condition that changes the way you live and the way you think about the future. We are committed to working with you to find a solution that works for you.

Our physicians and staff are nationally recognized for their expertise and experience. The OPTIMIST Program is a collective effort of three organizations known for their understanding of and commitment to excellence in heart care: Abbott Northwestern Hospital, the Minneapolis Heart Institute and the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.