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Use of CardioMEMS by U.S. clinicians to measure pulmonary artery pressures daily in more advanced heart failure patients is currently quite variable around the country, with some enthusiastic, early adopters of the technology while many other programs have so far opted not to invest in the technology
Among the early adopters of CardioMEMS many programs are “trying to sort through” how to use the data they collect from patients using the implanted device, Dr. Mary Norine Walsh said during an interview. “Each clinical teams needs to work out not only how the data will be interpreted but also who will act on it, and how will the patient get the information,” said Dr. Walsh, medical director of the heart failure and transplantation program at the St. Vincent Heart Center in Indianapolis. “We need to get the data to patients quickly,” she said.
Despite this uncertainty over how to best use and disseminate the pulmonary artery pressure data collected using CardioMEMS, Dr. Walsh voiced confidence that it will ultimately make a difference for how advanced heart failure patients are managed and their rehospitalization rates. But for the time being “how much CardioMEMS and other technologies can have an impact on avoidable readmissions is not yet clear” for real-world practice, she said.
Dr. Walsh had no disclosures.
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