Implanted Heart Monitoring Solution Enhances Care for Severe Heart Failure Patients

Fredericksburg, VA (August 18, 2021) – Mary Washington Hospital now offers a new miniaturized, wireless monitoring sensor to manage heart failure (HF). The Abbott CardioMEMS™ HF System is the first and only FDA-approved heart failure monitoring device clinically proven to significantly reduce hospital admissions when used by physicians to manage heart failure.

Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization for Americans over age 65. It occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s demands. This device allows patients to remotely share daily sensor readings from their homes with their health care providers, allowing for personalized care that reduces the likelihood of hospitalization. Innovative telehealth, like the CardioMEMS HF System, reduces the need for in-person appointments. Data from a recent clinical trial found that the remote monitoring technology reduces heart failure hospital admissions by up to 58 percent.

“This innovative technology provides us the ability to monitor heart failure patients from the comfort of their homes, improving outcomes and quality of life,” said Ashok J. Prasad, MD, Interventional Cardiologist, who performed the first CardioMEMS procedure at Mary Washington Hospital. “Continued investment in new procedures like CardioMEMS is a tremendous benefit to patients and families as we strive to find the latest solutions to meet the growing healthcare needs of our community.”

Cynthia, from Fredericksburg, Virginia, was Dr. Prasad’s first patient to receive the CardioMEMS monitoring device, which was implanted at Mary Washington Hospital earlier this year. View her story here.

The CardioMEMS HF System, from global health care leader Abbott, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for commercial use in the U.S. The GUIDE-HF clinical trial followed the CHAMPION trial, which studied the effectiveness of the CardioMEMS HF System in New York Heart Association (NYHA) Functional Classification System class III heart failure patients who had been hospitalized for heart failure in the previous 12 months.

According to the American Heart Association, nearly 6 million Americans have heart failure, and 900,000 new patients are diagnosed each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cite that half of heart failure patients die within five years of diagnosis. The estimated cost of heart failure in the U.S. is expected to double by 2030.

For more information about cardiac care at Mary Washington Healthcare, please visit heart.mwhc.com.

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About Mary Washington Healthcare:

Mary Washington Healthcare is a fully integrated, regional medical system that provides inpatient and outpatient care through over 50 facilities including Mary Washington Hospital, a 471-bed regional medical center, and Stafford Hospital, a 100-bed community hospital. Mary Washington Healthcare is a non-profit health system with a longstanding commitment to providing care regardless of ability to pay. For more information about our services and facilities, visit mwhc.com.

About Abbott:

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritional’s, and branded generic medicines. Our 107,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.