Piedmont Columbus Regional performs first Barostim procedure to improve heart failure patient’s quality of life

Columbus, Ga. (August 13, 2026) - Piedmont Columbus Regional performed its first Barostim procedure— improving quality of life for a heart failure patient in their early 50s.

What is Barostim and how it works:

• In heart failure, the heart struggles to pump blood effectively. This causes baroreceptors sensors on the carotid artery to send fewer signals to the brain.
• This causes the brain to trigger a stress response to force the heart to work harder, and, over time, worsens the symptoms of heart failure.
• Barostim is an implantable device that delivers gentle electrical pulses to baroreceptors. This increases the signals to the brain, which reduces the stress response and improves heart failure symptoms.

The system does not require any hardware inside the heart or blood vessels. The is typically an outpatient procedure, and most patients can go home the same day.

“This device reverses the body's reaction to a failing heart in a way that makes it actually better,” said Piedmont Columbus Regional vascular surgeon Robert Heidepriem III, M.D. “Cardiologists can adjust the device over three to six months to get maximum effects.”

Clinical studies have shown that Barostim therapy can:

• Improve exercise capacity, allowing patients to walk farther in six minutes compared to medication alone.
• Enhance quality of life, with patients reporting nearly three times greater improvement than those on medications alone.
• Reduce heart failure symptoms such as fatigue and shortness of breath.
• Improve baroreflex sensitivity and left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with NYHA class III heart failure.

“Barostim is used in conjunction with standard heart failure medications such as ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers and diuretics,” Dr. Heidepriem says. “The treatment is particularly considered for patients who have persistent symptoms despite optimal medical therapy.”