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When Geoffrey Anderson was on the waiting list for a heart transplant, trips to BWH from his home in Sandwich, Mass., were all too frequent. So when his doctors told him about the option to participate in a research study that had the potential to reduce hospitalizations for patients suffering from chronic heart failure, he was quick to enroll.
“They implanted a small device in my pulmonary artery that was able to measure the pressure in the artery,” Anderson said. “The readings were transmitted to the researchers once a day, allowing them to monitor me from remote locations.”
Ultimately, researchers at 64 centers—including BWH—found the monitoring device reduced hospitalization among heart failure patients by 39 percent. The results of the study were published in the Feb. 9 issue of The Lancet.
“Drastically reducing hospitalization for heart failure indicates this device’s potential to improve heart failure care in the U.S.,” said Michael M. Givertz, MD, medical director of BWH’s Heart Transplant and Circulatory Assist Program. “It also has the potential to reduce the cost of care for the millions of Americans suffering from heart failure.”
The monitoring device was implanted in patients during a quick, ten-minute procedure. Patients enrolled in the study were then sent home with a pressure measurement system that included an antenna-equipped pillow to lie on while the measurement was obtained, and an electronic unit that transmitted the reading to the researchers via the Internet. Using that information, researchers were able to assess if changes needed to be made in the patients’ treatment regimens.
“Previously, doctors would not know if a heart failure patient’s medications needed to be adjusted until the patient presented with symptoms, which often meant that decompensation had progressed to a level that required hospitalization,” Givertz said. “This device notifies us of potential issues before symptoms begin to worsen.”
Anderson underwent a heart transplant in April 2009, and while he continues to recover nicely, he says he is grateful for the opportunity to participate in studies that have the potential to improve care for patients in similar situations as he was once in.
“At the time I enrolled in the study, I was disabled and found it gratifying to be able to help myself and others,” Anderson said. “Here was a chance where people who would ordinarily end up in the hospital having to undergo testing and procedures could instead prevent things from ever getting to that point. And it’s painless and non-intrusive, which is just an added bonus.”