Assessing acute ventricular volume changes by intracardiac impedance in a chronic heart failure animal model.

Background: Implantable device diagnostics may play an essential role in simplifying the care of heart failure patients by providing fundamental insights into their complex clinical patterns. Early recognition of heart failure progression by a continuous hemodynamic monitoring would allow for timely therapeutic interventions to prevent decompensation and hospitalization. In this study, the feasibility of assessing ventricular volume changes by implant-based measurements of intracardiac impedance was tested in a heart failure animal model.

Intracardiac impedance monitors hemodynamic deterioration in a chronic heart failure pig model.

Introduction: A large number of heart failure (HF) patients benefit from cardiac resynchronization therapy. Measurements of intrathoracic impedance (ITZ) by implantable devices correlate with intrathoracic fluid content and are used for monitoring lung edema formation in HF patients. However, intrathoracic fluid is only an indirect parameter of cardiac function.