Non-invasive Monitoring of Patients with Heart Failure

Heart Failure (HF) is the leading cause for hospitalizations and 27% of HF patients are readmitted within the first 30 days after discharge. This high rate of early readmission, highlights the lack of adequate patient monitoring methods. The leading symptom for HF hospitalizations is respiratory effort (dyspnea). Currently there is no precise, validated, quantitative and objective method of assessing dyspnea in HF patients.

Lung congestion affects lung compliance. A decrease in lung compliance is reflected by subclinical increase in respiratory effort and by changes in chest wall dynamics. Therefore, quantification of the respiratory effort can provide the earliest precise, non-invasive and objective signs for cardiac decompensation.

The respiratory effort is monitored by miniature motion sensors attached to patient's thorax and epigastrium. This novel modality enables to evaluate the effects of the treatment on the respiratory effort during hospitalization. We also investigate the relationship between the severity of the respiratory effort at discharge and the period of time elapsed till readmission.

The study suggest that quantification of the respiratory effort provides objective indices for monitoring decompensated HF patients, and may be used for better decision making before discharging patients from the hospital.