Remote monitoring for heart failure
Cardiology(09.01.2016) The University Heart Center Freiburg - Bad Krozingen (UHZ) is the first hospital in Baden-Württemberg to use a miniaturized sensor that allows the blood pressure of heart failure patients to be monitored remotely. With the help of the sensor implanted in the pulmonary artery, the patient measures their blood pressure very close to the heart once a day and transmits the values to the treatment center at the UHZ via cell phone. If the pressure rises, this can be a harbinger of acute, life-threatening cardiac insufficiency. Even before symptoms appear, the treating doctors can adjust the therapy remotely so that the blood pressure falls again. An international study in the specialist journal The Lancet recently came to the conclusion that this could eliminate up to one in three hospital admissions for patients with heart failure.
Around 1.8 million people in Germany suffer from heart failure, also known as cardiac insufficiency. Typical signs are shortness of breath during light physical exertion such as climbing stairs. In heart failure, the heart's pumping capacity is no longer sufficient to meet the body's blood and oxygen requirements. The most severe stage of heart failure is known as decompensation and is characterized by fatigue, shortness of breath, swelling of the legs and liver. If left untreated, it can lead to cardiac arrest.
Alarm before symptoms occur
"For patients, the new heart monitoring system means an enormous gain in quality of life and also in lifespan," says Prof. Dr. Andreas Zirlik, Deputy Medical Director at the Department of Cardiology and Angiology I at the University Heart Center Freiburg - Bad Krozingen. "The system sounds the alarm even before patients notice any symptoms." In the best case scenario, this can prevent hospitalization and subsequent damage to the heart and kidneys, which in turn increases the risk of death. The system, called CardioMEMS, is suitable for patients who have been hospitalized for heart failure in the last twelve months and belong to heart failure class III according to the classification of the New York Heart Association (NYHA).
Since October 2016, the CardioMEMS system has been used in nine patients at the UHZ's Clinics of Cardiology and Angiology I and II as part of a clinical trial. More will follow in the coming weeks and months. The system has already proven itself in two patients in acute cases. "When the values deteriorated, we called the patients and took targeted countermeasures with an adapted therapy. This probably saved them a stay in hospital," says Prof. Zirlik.
Paperclip-sized sensor works for life and without batteries
The sensor, which is about the size of a paper clip, works for the entire lifetime of the patient and does not require batteries. For the daily measurement, the patient lies down on a special cushion. This stimulates the sensor via magnetic waves and then receives the measured values. "The measurement processes are painless and only take a few seconds," says Dr. Wolfgang Zeh, senior physician and head of the Clinical Heart Failure working group at the UHZ's Department of Cardiology and Angiology II.
In November 2016, the results of a large study involving 550 patients were published in the specialist journal The Lancet. According to the study, patients with CardioMEMS were admitted to hospital for heart failure a third less often than patients without the system. In Europe, heart failure is the most common reason for hospital admissions in older people. Half of all heart failure patients are hospitalized again within six months.
Contact for interested patients:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Zirlik
Deputy Medical Director
Clinic for Cardiology and Angiology I
University Heart Center Freiburg - Bad Krozingen
Phone: 0761 270-34425
andreas.zirlik@universitaets-herzzentrum.de
Dr. Wolfgang Zeh
Senior Physician
Clinic for Cardiology and Angiology II
University Heart Center Freiburg - Bad Krozingen
Phone: 07633 402-6230
wolfgang.zeh@universitaets-herzzentrum.de
Further information:
Clinic for Cardiology and Angiology I
Working Group for Clinical Heart Failure
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