Implantable wireless device reduces all-cause, HF admissions

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — An implantable wireless device, which measures pulmonary artery pressure and heart rate in patients with NYHA class III HF who have been hospitalized for HF within the previous year, significantly reduced the average number of days a patient spent in the ED, according to the results of an oral abstract presented at the 12th Annual AAHFN Meeting.

“Ambulatory hemodynamic monitoring of pulmonary artery pressures in a high-risk patient population with many comorbid conditions has demonstrated a reduction in all-cause and [HF] admissions,” Lisa D. Rathman, MSN, CRNP, CHFN, CCRN, of The Heart Group of Lancaster General Health in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said during her presentation.

Rathman and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of 21 patients who underwent ambulatory hemodynamic monitor implantation between February 2015 and October 2015 to evaluate HF hospitalizations in a postmarket community hospital population with the CardioMEMS (St. Jude Medical) wireless device.

The mean age of the patients included in the review was 67.5 years, and 38% of the patients were women. Patients had an average of seven major comorbid conditions and 85.7% had HF with preserved ejection fraction.

Study results demonstrated a reduction in the average number of days that patients with all causes spent in the ED before and after the device implantation (17.4 vs. 3.7 days; P = .001), as well as a reduction in the average number of days that patients with chronic HF spent in the ED before and after the device implantation (11.5 vs. 1.7 days; P < .001).

The study results also demonstrated an increased significance of care after the wireless device was implanted into patients. The number of phone calls per week between physician and patient increased from 1.2 to 2.6 after the device was implanted (P < .01), and the number of days between a medication change decreased from 11.7 to 6.2 days.

“Incorporation of [this] guided treatment decrease[s] filling pressures and allows for titration of HF medications,” Rathman said. – by Ryan McDonald

Reference:

Rathman LD, et al. Oral Abstracts 4. Presented at: American Association of Heart Failure Nurses Annual Meeting; June 23-25, 2016; Scottsdale, Ariz.

Disclosure: Rathman reports serving on the speaker and advisory boards for Medtronic and St. Jude, as well as the advisory board for Novartis.