New Implant Could Cut Heart Patient Admissions

Heart patients at high risk of being admitted to hospital, particularly during a heatwave, are being implanted for the first time with a microchip that precisely monitors their condition.

The device sends data to hospital, where doctors can spot early signs of deterioration and instruct patients to change their medication before it becomes a life-threatening emergency.

Studies in the US suggest the implant can reduce hospital admissions for heart failure by 30%.

The Royal Brompton Hospital in London is now carrying out the first NHS tests of the device.

Professor Martin Cowie, a consultant cardiologist at the hospital, said he had been able to keep a close eye on patients during the heatwave even though they were several miles away, warning one woman to drink more fluids and reduce the dose of diuretic "water" tablets.

He explained: "If she had become more dehydrated, her blood pressure would drop, her kidneys might stop working properly, she would feel absolutely terrible.

"She might have needed to be admitted to hospital, so with picking up the problem early, we can stop anything deteriorating and she can continue enjoying the summer."

The device is implanted using a long wire that is threaded through blood vessels from a small incision in the leg to the artery between the heart and lungs.

Roughly twice the size of a grain of rice, it measures the blood pressure in the artery – a good indicator of how well the heart is performing.

At home, patients lie on a monitoring pad that scans their device and sends the data to the hospital.

The device costs more than £10,000, but each emergency admission for heart failure costs around £3,500, so it should quickly pay for itself.

"There is a lot of investment up front but in the long term hopefully we get all of that money back," Prof Cowie added. "And also patients are feeling better, at home. So it's potentially very exciting."

Reg Youngman, 76, was one of the first patients to be fitted with the device.

He was admitted to hospital seven times in 12 months, spending more than a quarter of the year on a specialist cardiac ward.

But since having the implant two months ago, he has stayed well.

He told Sky News: "People are watching me and I feel safer. In the past, I never knew when something was going to hit me badly.

"Sometime I couldn't finish a sentence because I was so out of breath. Now, the doctors are picking things up before they go wrong."

The tests being carried out at the Royal Brompton are a key step to winning approval from NICE for more widespread use of the device on the NHS.