March 30, 2017 — New late-breaking featured clinical research presented today adds strong clinical support for Abbott's CardioMEMS HF System as an effective real-world approach to reduce heart failure hospitalizations and combat the rising cost of heart failure. The CardioMEMS HF System is the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved monitor that has been shown to significantly reduce heart failure hospital admissions and improve the quality of life in patients with heart failure (NYHA Class III). The latest research includes more than 1,100 Medicare patients and was presented today during the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2017 Annual Scientific Sessions in Washington, D.C., and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).
Researchers found a 46 percent reduction in heart failure hospitalizations in patients six months after receiving the CardioMEMS HF System, and a 34 percent reduction at 12 months post-implant. The data are consistent with what was seen in the CHAMPION clinical trial, further confirming that when physicians adjust medications based on the patient's pulmonary artery pressures, related hospitalizations are significantly reduced.
"These results support the clinical effectiveness and potential cost savings of using an implantable hemodynamic monitor to help with heart failure management," said Akshay Desai, M.D., director of the Heart Failure Disease Management Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass. "Reducing heart failure hospitalizations is an important goal for patients and hospitals alike, and may help to improve long-term clinical outcomes and quality of life for our patients."
The data also showcased important cost-savings captured through reductions in heart failure hospitalizations associated with the use of the CardioMEMS HF System. In particular, in the six months post-implant, each patient had an average reduction of more than $10,500 in comprehensive health care costs compared to the six months prior to implant. Twelve month post-implant analysis showed a $13,190 reduction in costs per patient.
Data were collected using U.S. Medicare claims from patients undergoing a CardioMEMS sensor implant to measure pulmonary artery pressure, and the rates of heart failure hospitalizations from before and after the implant were compared. Comprehensive heart failure-related costs were also compared. The data confirmed that hemodynamic (pulmonary artery pressure) monitoring with the CardioMEMS HF System in an outpatient setting reduced heart failure hospitalization for patients while also reducing related costs.
Additional data on managing heart failure patients with the CardioMEMS HF System published on Feb. 22, 2017, in Circulation — Impact of Practice Based Management of PA Pressures in 2,000 Patients Implanted with the CardioMEMS Sensor — showed that patient compliance and physician-directed management outside of a clinical study led to a significant reduction of pulmonary artery pressures.
Watch a VIDEO interview with the lead investigator of the CHAMPION Trial, William Abraham, M.D.
April 11, 2024 
