Bryan Medical Center First in Nebraska to Offer New Heart Failure Monitoring Solution

Bryan Medical Center is the first hospital in Nebraska to utilize the CardioMEMS HF System, a new miniaturized and wireless monitoring device designed to manage heart failure and significantly reduce hospital admissions.

“This system is an innovative piece of technology in treating heart failure and improving outcomes for our patients,” said Dr. Mathue Baker, cardiologist at Bryan Heart and the first physician in Nebraska to utilize this equipment. “We are committed to offering our community the latest advances in heart treatment and are excited to provide an option that will keep individuals healthy at home and reduce their doctor visits and hospital readmissions.”

The CardioMEMS system features a sensor that is implanted in the pulmonary artery of the heart during a minimally invasive procedure to directly measure the vessel’s pressures. This revolutionary approach allows patients to transmit daily readings from their homes to health care providers, allowing for personalized and proactive management to reduce the likelihood of hospitalization. Increased readings appear before weight and blood pressure changes, which are often used as indirect measures of worsening heart failure. 

Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s demands. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than five million Americans suffer from this condition. Those individuals are frequently hospitalized, have a reduced quality of life and face a higher risk of death.

The CardioMEMS sensor is designed to last the lifetime of the patient and doesn’t require batteries. There is no pain or sensation for the individual during the readings. The system allows patients to transmit critical information about their heart failure status to a physician who can detect worsening heart failure sooner, adjust medications and alter treatments to reduce the likelihood the patient will need to be hospitalized. Data from a clinical trial showed that the CardioMEMS technology reduced heart failure hospital admissions by up to 37 percent.

To learn more about CardioMEMS or to schedule an appointment with a physician, please contact Bryan Heart at 402-483-3333.