Heart Failure Care

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Heart Failure Monitoring

Northwest Medical Center was the first Tucson hospital to offer a wireless monitoring sensor to manage heart failure*. It was the first FDA-approved heart failure monitoring device proven to reduce hospital admissions when used by physicians to manage heart failure.

Now, patients will not need to monitor their symptoms with daily weigh-ins and by watching their fluid intake. This device provides a clear and accurate reading of what's happening with the patient's heart failure condition so we can make even minute adjustments to the patient's medication levels. By tracking certain data remotely, the technology can reduce readmissions and improve the quality of life in heart failure patients.

A minimally invasive procedure is used to place the wireless sensor, which is as small as a dime, in the pulmonary artery of the lung. To send a data reading, the patient lies on a special pillow and the implant communicates wirelessly within minutes. A cardiologist can access and receive the patient's personal pressure readings, trend data and waveforms through a secure website anytime and anywhere – even on a smartphone.

The device allows cardiologists to anticipate up to two weeks earlier the need for medical therapy adjustments in heart failure patients and decrease the need for hospitalization. The new sensor technology is permanent, with no need for replacement, new parts or batteries. The device operates through vibrations transmitted through the pulmonary artery.

Not all heart failure patients qualify for the technology but your cardiologist can help determine if this monitoring system is right for you.

^* As of February 2016