Paperclip-sized sensor could help thousands monitor heart condition from home
A wireless sensor the size of a paperclip could soon transform care for people living with chronic heart failure.
The sensor allows them to monitor their condition daily from home. It means they and their healthcare team can catch warning signs before they become emergencies.
It has been recommended for use from today in new guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
This breakthrough is based on evidence from research, including the COAST trial. University Hospital Southampton (UHS) was the highest recruiting centre to the national study, and the first to implant the sensor in the UK.
Dr Andrew Flett, Consultant Cardiologist at UHS, led Southampton's involvement in this research. His research is supported by the UHS Research Leaders Programme.
Spotting early warning signs
Heart failure affects around 920,000 people in the UK.
The condition accounts for approximately one million hospital bed days each year. This is equivalent to 2% of all NHS inpatient stays in England. It costs the NHS around £2 billion annually. Many of these costs are related to hospital admissions.
The CardioMEMS HF System has been developed by healthcare company Abbott. It is implanted into an artery between the heart and lung during a minimally invasive surgical procedure.
Once in place, patients take daily pressure readings by lying on a special pillow and pressing a button. The readings are sent wirelessly to their healthcare team, who can spot early warning signs. They can then adjust the patient's medication before symptoms become serious.
This could potentially avoid the need for emergency hospital visits.
Recommended by NICE
The technology is now recommended for adults with chronic heart failure who have been hospitalised for heart failure and are at risk of further admission.
Evidence from three trials showed CardioMEMS was associated with a 34% reduction in heart failure hospitalisations. This was compared with usual care.
Dr Anastasia Chalkidou is HealthTech Programme Director at NICE.
“This technology offers a real opportunity to improve care for people living with chronic heart failure,” she said.
“By enabling early detection of problems and timely medication adjustments, it has the potential to reduce emergency hospital admissions and help people manage their condition more effectively from the comfort of their own home.
“For patients and their families, this means fewer frightening trips to A&E and more time living their lives. For the NHS, it represents an innovative approach to managing a condition that places significant demands on hospital resources.”
Moving care from hospital to home
The guidance supports the government's 10 Year Health Plan commitment to harness transformative technologies that shift care closer to home and reduce pressure on hospitals.
Leslie Birkenhead is a former paramedic from Hampshire who had a CardioMEMS HF System fitted in 2020.
“Living with heart failure can be incredibly frightening, particularly when you don’t know what’s happening inside your body from day to day,” he said. “Since having the CardioMEMS device fitted, I feel much safer and far more in control.
“The monitoring allows issues to be picked up early, before they escalate into emergency hospital visits. It’s difficult to put into words how grateful I am for this technology – it’s given me peace of mind and helped keep me out of hospital.”
Dr Flett says he is delighted to see this result. He would like to thank all patients and staff involved in the research in Southampton.
He describes the new technology as a 'revolution' in how patients with the condition can now be treated.
“We routinely ask heart failure patients in the UK to monitor their weight, symptoms and blood pressure at home,” he said.
“This approach is often too late to detect signs of worsening heart failure, which can prevent timely medical intervention and increase the chances of a patient being admitted.
“Patients who receive the sensor can send readings to the hospital every day from their home, so we can monitor them and adjust medications immediately from a distance – it is a revolution and a very exciting piece of technology.”