Methodist Hospitals pioneered the use of a new technology in the management of heart Failure: the CardoMEMS HF System. Methodist was the first Northwest Indiana hospital – and the first in all of Chicagoland – to offer this exceptional system to its heart failure patients.
The system includes an implantable PA sensor, delivery system and Patient Electronics System. The sensor is permanently implanted into a patient’s PA via the delivery system during a non-surgical procedure that lasts about 40 minutes and is performed under local anesthesia. Designed to last a patient’s lifetime, the sensor measures pressure in the pulmonary artery and heart rate. Increases in PA pressure appear before weight and blood pressure changes, which are often used as indirect measures of worsening heart failure.
In the past, heart failure management has relied on patients reporting symptoms after heart failure has worsened. This advanced monitoring technology allows physicians to proactively adjust treatment and potentially prevent the need for hospitalization.
Reducing hospitalizations has a direct impact on the wellbeing of heart failure patients. The CardioMEMS System has proven to significantly reduce those hospital admissions.
How CardioMEMS Works
Patients use the Patient Electronic System to take daily readings, which are sent to their doctor. The system consists of an electronics unit and pillow with built-in antenna and may be used at home or other location.
Once a day, the patient lays on a pillow, allowing the antenna to wirelessly gather and transmit information. It’s a simple, painless daily task that may reduce heart failure patient hospitalizations. The information is transmitted to a secure website where a Methodist Hospitals nurse practitioner looks for warning trends.
If you have heart failure, talk to your doctor to learn more about the CardioMEMS system.
