Implanted sensor monitors heart failure patients

Abington Hospital is the latest to offer patients with moderately severe heart failure an implantable sensor that monitors pulmonary artery pressure to help detect worsening of the condition, allowing adjustment of medications.

The paperclip-size device, called CardioMEMS and marketed by St. Jude Medical, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014 for patients who have been hospitalized within the past year for Class III heart failure. These patients are comfortable at rest, but mild physical activity can cause symptoms including fatigue, breathlessness, heart pain, and abnormal heart rhythms.

Studies have shown that pulmonary artery pressure is a strong early indicator of worsening heart failure, independent of standard indicators such as heart rate, blood pressure, and fluid buildup that usually shows up as weight gain.

The CardioMEMS system features a small pressure-sensing device that is implanted directly into the pulmonary artery through a catheter (tube) during a minimally-invasive procedure. Patients take daily sensor readings at home with wireless technology – no battery is needed – and transmit the information to their doctors via computer. As needed, doctors can fine-tune the patients' medications, which typically include drugs that lower blood pressure, slow the heartbeat, and increase urination.

In the pivotal clinical trial that led to approval of CardioMEMS, patients with the sensor had a 37 percent reduction in heart-failure related hospitalizations compared with the control group, which received standard care.

"We are excited to offer this innovative technology," cardiology chief Robert A. Watson III said in a press release issued by Abington-Jefferson Health.

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