Northwell Health physicians presented data at the American College of Cardiology 65th Annual Scientific Session (2-4 April, Chicago, USA) showing heart failure management with the CardioMEMS HF System leads to significant improvements in quality of life and exercise capacity for patients with heart failure.
The study demonstrated that monitoring pulmonary artery pressure with the CardioMEMS technology leads to significant improvements in quality of life (as measured by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire [KCCQ]) and ability to exercise (using the six minute walk [6MW] test standard) in patients with chronic heart failure.
“The data confirms that patients who are monitored using the CardioMEMS HF System are seeing significant improvements in the quality of their lives, including an increase in exercise capacity,” said Rita Jermyn, director, Congestive Heart Failure Program at North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York, part of Northwell Health.
The analysis evaluated 66 patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III heart failure; 34 underwent implant of the CardioMEMS device and 32 patients remained on medical management alone. Quality of life was assessed based on the KCCQ that measures quality of life items such as physical and social function, symptoms and self-efficacy. A 6MW test was conducted to evaluate exercise capacity for each patient. The study found management with the CardioMEMS device led to a:
- Decrease of nearly 7% in body weight
- Three-fold increase in quality of life scoring
- Increase of 38% in the distance patients were able to walk within the 6MW test
The CardioMEMS HF System uses a miniature wireless monitoring sensor implanted in the pulmonary artery to directly measure pulmonary artery pressure. Patients can transmit these data from home to their health care providers, allowing providers to stabilise pressure by managing the patient’s medications more effectively.
The CardioMEMS HF System is the first and only FDA-approved heart failure monitor that, when used by physicians, has been shown to significantly reduce heart failure hospital admissions and improve the quality of life in NYHA Class III patients. Long-term, prospective data published in The Lancet supports the effectiveness of the CardioMEMS HF System at reducing heart failure hospitalisations by demonstrating the system can provide physicians the opportunity to proactively manage their heart failure patients.
The CHAMPION study originally demonstrated a statistically and clinically significant 28% reduction in the rate of heart failure hospitalisations at six months, and a 37% reduction in heart failure hospitalisations during an average follow-up duration of 15 months.
