When you suffer from a blood clot blocking the flow to your lungs or heart, there are two options: undergo open heart surgery. Or die.

Luckily, there's a new blood filter system now, which doctors say will be able to save lives without ripping chests apart.

The idea is akin to combining a Dyson vacuum with a dialysis machine. Developed by Angio Dynamics, the AngioVac system essentially hoovers out your blood, filters out the clots, and pumps back the cleansed blood back into your body.

The cannula serves as the outgoing pipe, and it is inserted into the carotid artery and threaded through your vascular system into position on one side of the clot. The other end is attached to a powerful fluid pump via an inline filter. The filter is then inserted into the femoral artery and back into the patient's body, bypassing the circulatory system and is known as an extracorporeal bypass.



The system has already saved at least two lives. Todd Dunlap, 62, became the first person to undergo the procedure when a medical team managed to suck out a 24 inch clot that stretched from his legs into his heart.

The team inserted the cannula into Dunlap's neck and positioned it next to the clot in his heart. They then slid the circuit into his femoral vein and turned the suction on. After three hours, the clot has been fully removed. Dunlap was out of ICU within three days and discharged after a week.

Had he undergo open heart surgery, it would have taken 6 hours and months of recovery.
Hopefully more of such procedures like these get used instead of dangerous open heart ones. [Angio Dynamics via UCLA - DMC CVI - Mayo Clinic]