Heart failure occurs when your heart is unable to pump blood efficiently, leading to symptoms like swelling and breathing problems. When you have heart failure, the pressure in your pulmonary arteries — the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs to receive oxygen — can increase. This can cause blood to back up into your lungs, making it hard to breathe, causing a sudden worsening of symptoms.
Doctors work hard to help patients avoid worsening heart failure symptoms because it can lead to a hospital stay and increase a person’s risk of heart failure-related death.
To put this into perspective, people who are hospitalized once for heart failure have about a 70% chance of surviving the next year. However, if they are hospitalized four times, their survival chances drop to just 50%.
The Pressure Is On
When you have heart failure, it’s crucial to know the pressure in your pulmonary arteries. However, most people don’t realize their pressure is too high until it becomes dangerous and causes symptoms.
“You’re behind the eight ball once a person becomes symptomatic,” said Albert J. Hicks, III, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and medical director of cardiac transplantation at University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
Now, thanks to advances in remote monitoring, doctors can check your pulmonary artery pressure from miles away — even if you’re at home or busy running errands. This technology helps identify issues early, often before you even start to experience symptoms.
With remote heart monitoring, cardiologists like Dr. Hicks and his implanting partner, Dr. Sarah Flint, can monitor pulmonary artery pressure and fluid levels remotely, helping patients avoid hospitalization and potentially improve long-term survival.
Remote Monitoring Detects Rising Heart Pressure Sooner
Doctors implant the remote heart pressure monitoring device during a cardiac catheterization procedure, which checks the heart’s function through a thin, flexible tube called a catheter that’s inserted into a blood vessel and maneuvered to the heart. The procedure usually takes a few hours, and most people go home on the same day.
The device is smaller than a dime and has tiny wires that stick to the artery walls. It doesn’t have a battery, and it never has to be removed or changed. Remote monitoring can detect pressure changes two to four weeks before a person experiences symptoms like shortness of breath.
“If we can place a device in the pulmonary artery that can measure the pressures directly, then we can prevent up to 50% of hospital admissions because we can intervene before these things happen,” Dr. Hicks said.
Listen to Dr. Hicks talk about the importance of remote heart monitoring:
How the Device Works
Using remote home heart pressure monitoring is simple. You lie down on a sensor, which sends a signal to the medical device inside your body. The rate of vibration within the device determines the pressure inside the artery in your lungs. The device then sends this information to your doctor.
Your doctor reviews that data to assess your heart health and make adjustments to your treatment. If your pulmonary artery pressure starts rising, your doctor can notify you and recommend the next steps.
“For example, we’ll call the patient and let them know that their pressures have been going up, and advise them to take extra water pills,” Dr. Hicks said. “Then, we watch the pressures go down in real time.”
Remote heart pressure monitoring uses a three-zone system, similar to a traffic light, with colors ranging from green to yellow to red. If your pressure level increases from the green zone to the yellow zone, your doctor will contact you to prevent further issues.
“Patients like it because it allows them to live their lives,” Dr. Hicks said. “They can go skiing or get on an airplane, and if their pressures get affected by altitude, we can watch it and stay in contact with them.”
Heart Care That Changes Lives
For many advanced heart failure patients, remote heart pressure monitoring offers freedom, security and improved health.
“Ideally, I’d like to give all my patients this technology,” Dr. Hicks said, who specializes in advanced heart failure. He added that wider acceptance of the technology could help lower heart failure-related hospitalizations.
Research supports this: In one study, a remote heart pressure monitoring device called CardioMEMS reduced hospitalizations by 44%. Another study revealed that participants had a better chance of surviving heart failure after two years compared to those without the device.
With this innovative technology and proactive monitoring, patients with heart failure can enjoy less stress and more peace of mind. Over time, adoption continues to grow, and experts predict that even more patients will benefit from its life-changing advantages.
More to Read
- Ask These Questions About Your Heart Failure Medications
- Congestive Heart Failure: What to Know About Fluid Overload
- What Does the Term ‘Ejection Fraction’ Mean for Your Heart?
- Heart Disease Symptom Warning Signs: When to Call the Doctor
Interested in learning about remote heart pressure monitoring? Experts at the University of Maryland Medical Center are here to help.
Call 410-328-7877 to contact the Remote Heart Monitoring Program.