A new experimental technology option for heart disease is currently being tested that allows doctors to remotely monitor patient heart conditions via wireless messaging, PR Newswire reports. The clinical trail called LAPTOP-HF (Left Atrial Pressure Monitoring to Optimize Heart Failure Therapy) at the University of Kansas hospital is designed to investigate a new way to help treat heart failure by helping doctors adjust a patient’s medications before symptoms develop or require hospitalization.
St. Jude Medical developed the monitor with the University of Kansas Hospital among the 75 sites in the United States chosen to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the device.
Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, an electrophysiologist at The University of Kansas Hospital, said the LAPTOP HF monitor can give heart patients and their doctors critical information immediately. “Before this device, any of these measurements had to be taken here in our office. Now with this technology, we can obtain the information from the patient’s home,” said Lakkireddy. “It’s especially helpful for patients who live a long way from us. We can constantly monitor their condition and give them medication changes any time, rather than waiting for a scheduled appointment.”
Potential Breakthrough in Telemedicine
That’s a huge benefit for Larry Stewart, who lives nearly two hours south of the hospital in Bronson, Kansas. Before enrolling in the trial, Stewart and his wife had to make the journey to see Dr. Lakkireddy about every six weeks for congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular heartbeat.
Now, after having the device (which looks like a pacemaker) surgically implanted in his chest, all Stewart has to do each day is hold the small monitor (the size of a smartphone) up to his chest and the readings are electronically sent back to the doctor’s office for instant analysis. “It makes me feel better that there’s something there that’s measuring and keeping an eye on my heart,” said Stewart. It also means only making the trip to the doctor’s office every three months, while still be monitored regularly, which is especially helpful during winter months when road conditions can be dangerous.
Below is a video of how the device works:
Featured image credit: Boyce Duprey via cc
