New heart failure monitoring device now available at three Kentucky Hospitals

DANVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) — CardioMEMS is now available at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center, and two other locations in Kentucky.

Designed to last the lifetime of the patient, this FDA-approved tool is the first and only heart failure monitoring device proven to reduce hospital re-admissions when used by physicians, according to EMRMC. It is wireless, painless to use, and allows patients to transmit daily sensor readings from their homes to their health care providers.

“Heart failure impairs a patient’s lifestyle, limiting their functional ability and resulting in frequent hospital admissions,” says Dr. Hussam Hamdalla, Interventional Cardiologist at the Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center. “This technology allows the physician to monitor the changes in the patient’s Pulmonary Artery pressure and adjust the patient’s medicine before they develop outward symptoms. This will decrease the chance of a patient needing to go to the hospital.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 5.1 million Americans have heart failure, with 670 thousand new cases diagnosed each year. Patients with heart failure are frequently hospitalized, data shows, and have a reduced quality of life and face a higher risk of early death.

Heart failure hospital admission was reduced by up to 37 percent, according to the CardioMEMS clinical trial.

For more information about the Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center Vascular Institute, visit their website