Heart Failure is a   common condition  with more than 5 million Americans affected by it. In order to treat heart failure lifestyle modifications and a medication regimen is followed.  Currently St Jude Medical released their new product called the Cardio MEMS HF System. It is the first FDA-approved HF monitoring device that has been proven to reduce hospital admissions and improve quality of life in NYHA class III HF patients who have been hospitalized in the previous 12 months. Wow! But you may ask your self how does this really work? Well a senor is placed in the pulmonary artery, it reads the  pressures, and sends the reading  automatically to your providers desktop where he can view the reading through a secure website. The sensor itself is powered by radio frequency energy and is implanted in the pulmonary artery via a a catheter. The procedure is non-invasive and the sensor lasts for the lifetime of the patient. No battery is required, and the sensor sends out information to an electronic transmitter. In order to initiate readings the patient lies down on a special pillow and the electronic unit guides the patient on how to initiate a reading. Once the reading is complete, which only takes a few minutes, the readings are transmitted wirelessly  to a secure website.  The physician  reviews the readings and makes any necessary adjustments to the patients treatment. Pulmonary artery pressure is reflective of the patients heart condition. The sensor allows daily monitoring at home without the inconvenience of having to visit the doctors office. It is also easy and fast. Most importantly it can prevent future hospitalizations through early detection of changes pulmonary artery pressure.

CardioMEMS™ HF System