Every morning patient Alfred Hagedoorn lies with his upper body on a special pillow that connects to the sensor implanted in his pulmonary artery. That sensor measures pressure, then immediately wirelessly transmits the results to his cardiologist at UMC Utrecht. “The fact that I am monitored daily at home and receive a message back from the hospital feels safe. It gives me peace of mind.”
Last spring, Alfred had been short of breath for some time. He also suffered from dizziness. “Every week I swam intensively. Until things went wrong in September: I thought I was suffocating. I had cardiac asthma, which means that due to leaky heart valves, the left half of my heart was so weakened that it couldn’t process enough fluid. My lungs were filling up as a result. With great urgency, I left by ambulance for the UMC Utrecht. After some very frightening shortness of breath, I was given mitraclips via the groin. These reduce the leakage of the heart valves. Things got better, but still not really optimal. In December it was bad again. Again cardiac asthma and again I was rushed to the UMC Utrecht. It turned out that because of the heart valve leak both halves of the heart were no longer in sync. To remedy this, it was decided to place a CRT-D pacemaker so that my two ventricles contract simultaneously again. I really feel a lot better now.”
Alfred was also fitted with what is known as the CardioMEMS HF system. This is a mini-sensor in the pulmonary artery that directly measures the pressure. As heart failure worsens, the pulmonary artery pressure increases. Alfred: “At home there is a nice trolley, with a computer in a pillow. Every day I lie down on it; a voice tells me whether I am lying well. Via the implanted minisensor, information about my pulmonary artery pressure then goes to the cardiologist. As a result, I need to visit the hospital less often, while my doctor can respond quickly. You are only called back when adjustments are needed. I’ve had the system for about two months now; once every two weeks I get a phone call. Then the pressure turns out to be too high and my medication is adjusted. This immediately prevents my heart failure from getting worse. After all the attacks I have had, this daily check-up gives me peace of mind, not to mention my family as well.”
