CardioMEMS Heart Failure System
CardioMEMS gives you more control over life with heart failure. This advanced system helps you manage your condition and spend less time in the hospital.
CardioMEMS Heart Failure System: Live better with heart failure
The CardioMEMS™ HF System for heart failure is a miniature, wireless, remote monitoring sensor that might help you live with less stress and worry about needing to go to the hospital for your condition.
The CardioMEMS HF System is the first and only Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved heart failure monitoring device proven to significantly reduce hospital admissions and improve quality of life in people with Class III heart failure who have been hospitalized for heart failure within the previous year. People progress to Class III heart failure if even small amounts of physical activity cause symptoms, like chest pain, heart palpitations, extreme tiredness, and shortness of breath.
Why choose Reid Health
Your heart is in the right place
Reid Health is one of fewer than 90 hospitals and clinics in Indiana and Ohio to offer CardioMEMS — and the only location to provide the technology within a nearly 50-mile radius of Richmond, Indiana.
When you choose CardioMEMS placement at Reid, you can be comforted by the fact that our cardiovascular team has decades of experience in heart failure management — and you don’t have to travel to a major metropolitan area to receive this advanced level of care.
Detecting heart failure earlier
In the past, providers would use blood pressure, weight, and other measurements to see if a patient’s heart failure was worsening. The CardioMEMS HF System monitors pulmonary artery pressure, which is a much earlier sign of heart failure decline. Pulmonary artery pressure often changes before other symptoms develop.
The device sends data to your provider regularly, allowing them to change your medications or offer other treatments before problems develop — sometimes even without an in-person visit.
How does CardioMEMS work?
CardioMEMS is a two-part system: An implantable sensor and an external patient electronic system.
The implantable sensor is a completely sealed, wireless capsule about the size of a paper clip. A cardiologist can implant it into the pulmonary artery using small incisions and a tube called a catheter.
The external patient electronic system is a portable unit and a special pillow that records the daily pressure and heart rate readings.
Each day, you turn on the electronic unit and lie on the special pillow. The unit tells you how to start the reading, which takes two to three minutes. You won’t feel anything during the reading.
The device measures your pulmonary artery pressure and transmits the data to your healthcare provider. If the pressure falls outside of a preset range, your provider receives an alert and can quickly adjust treatment plans, which can help keep you out of the hospital.
Who benefits from the CardioMEMS HF System
CardioMEMS is intended for people with Class III heart failure who have had to go to the hospital in the previous year for their condition. If you’re not sure if you qualify, a Reid cardiologist can review your diagnosis and let you know if it’s an option for you.