CardioMEMS Hero features new design features to empower heart failure patients and clinicians with daily insights for detecting and combating heart failure progression. It represents a new component of the company’s CardioMEMS HF system.
Abbott plans to begin the commercial release of the CardioMEMS Hero reader in the U.S. soon.
Remote monitoring technologies like the Abbott CardioMEMS sensor enable better management of heart failure. The CardioMEMS sensor’s design enables it to help people and their physicians proactively manage heart failure. It also helps to potentially prevent events that could lead to hospitalization.
CardioMEMS is implanted into the pulmonary artery via a minimally invasive procedure. The paperclip-sized sensor wirelessly transmits data about heart rates and pressures to the patient’s physicians. This continuous data stream aids in adjusting treatment plans and keeping hospital admissions at bay.
The technology first received FDA approval in 2014 for Class III heart failure patients hospitalized for the condition within the previous year. In February 2022, it received an expanded indication that could reach an additional 1.2 million people with heart failure.
More about the Abbott CardioMEMS Hero system
Abbott says CardioMEMS Hero is similar in size to a laptop case and sleeker and smaller than the system’s previous model. It works with the sensor to take a remote PA pressure reading and securely send data to their care team.
Clinicians can receive daily data readings and, if they see changes in PA pressures, communicate to the patient any medication or lifestyle changes necessary to help slow heart failure progression. This can occur before a patient even feels symptoms, keeping them out of the hospital.
Features of Hero include a 60% lighter device compared to the previous model for easy use every day. Abbott designed it to fit inside of a carry-on suitcase too, making travel more convenient.
Additionally, Hero enables a consistent reading position for reliable, accurate results. Abbott said it’s the only patient reader integrated with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity for easy setup and virtual readings anywhere they have a signal.
“Abbott’s CardioMEMS Hero reader is modernizing a proven and effective remote patient management system, making it even more convenient for patients to use a device that has shown a 57% reduction in heart failure hospitalizations,” said Dr. Finn Gustafsson, chief medical officer and divisional VP of Abbott’s Heart Failure business. “With this new reader, people can work with their doctors to proactively manage their condition outside of the doctor’s office even more efficiently – increasing convenience and the patient experience.”
