Heart Check
A new type of cardiac implant that measures blood pressure from inside the heart could help doctors better manage patients with heart failure, reducing the risk of hospitalization and even helping to prevent the condition from worsening. Developed by Minneapolis-based Medtronic, the device is implanted under the patient's skin. From there, sensors on the ends of conducting leads are fed into the heart's right ventricle, where they continuously track diastolic and systolic pressure, heart rate, body temperature, and level of patient activity. At least once a week, the patient downloads these data to an Internet-connected device that sends them on to his or her doctors. The information helps cardiologists pick the best therapies for each patient and adjust them as necessary -- something that is often a hit-or-miss affair otherwise, says cardiologist Mark Aaron of Saint Thomas Heart Institute in Nashville, TN, one of the 28 medical centers that took part in a recent trial of the device. The results of the trial are due to be published later this summer and show that hospitalization could be reduced by up to 41 percent for patients with moderate heart failure.

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