LATITUDE Active Monitoring™ provides early alerts of weight fluctuations

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Patient background:

Implanting Physician: P. David Margolis, M.D., F.A.C.C., medical director, Arrhythmia Services, Via Christi Regional Medical Center, Wichita, Kansas.; Heartland Cardiology, P.C.

Cardiologist: Randee E. Lipman, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.C., Kansas Cardiology Consultants, Wichita, Kansas

Allied Health Professional: Monica Fouch, R.N., B.S.N., device clinic supervisor

History: The patient has a history of heart failure and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. She weighs herself daily and closely monitors her intake of food and fluids. Her weight continues to fluctuate greatly despite her efforts. As a result, she is either hospitalized (as frequently as weekly) or requires rescue diuretics to prevent further decompensation and hospitalization.

Incorporating LATITUDE Active Monitoring into this patient's care: LATITUDE Active Monitoring allows Dr. Margolis and Dr. Lipman to closely monitor this patient at home and reduce hospital admissions. The office receives a weight alert notification if the patient's weight exceeds a preset threshold, and the system transmits vital clinical information including weight, blood pressure, activity level, symptom questions, heart rate, and heart rate variability via the patient's phone line for timely analysis.

Situation: Fouch received a fax notifying her of a weight gain in this patient of more than 4 pounds over the last two days.

Action: After a comprehensive review of the diagnostic data, the patient was contacted by phone. The patient reported eating a slice of pizza for dinner the evening before with her family. Dr. Lipman was contacted and she scheduled the patient for a same-day appointment. The patient was evaluated and her diuretics were adjusted.

Response: Fouch said, "LATITUDE gives us a window of opportunity to identify early changes, especially weight fluctuations and changes in heart rate variability that often precede the patient's symptoms and clinical decompensation." Dr. Margolis added, "LATITUDE also enhances our relationship with our referring physicians."

LATITUDE Heart Failure Management provides timely insight into your heart failure patients' status.

Promotes compliance to enable earlier interventions and is aligned with the 2005 ACC/AHA Heart Failure Guidelines.

Patients with LV dysfunction or heart failure typically present in 1 of 3 ways¹:

1. Decreased exercise tolerance: GUIDANT INSIGHT™ report provides an Activity Log, which correlates clinical history with physical activity.

2. Fluid retention: GUIDANT INSIGHT report provides daily weight (actionable alert notification), because increases in body weight commonly precede major clinical episodes².

3. Symptoms of cardiac or non-cardiac disorder: GUIDANT INSIGHT report provides a Patient Symptom Report which helps assess a patient's activities of daily living³.

Guidant has the complete solution for your patients on OPT who have:

¹ACC/AHA Guidelines 2005, page 10, section 3.1.1
²ACC/AHA Guidelines 2005, page 22, section 4.3.1.1
³ACC/AHA Guidelines 2005, pages 13-14, section 3.2.1
⁴Class I Indications for Stage C heart failure patients, ibid.

Individual symptoms, situations, and circumstances may vary. Patients should consult a physician or qualified health provider regarding their medical condition and appropriate medical treatment. The information provided is not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment or as a substitute for professional medical advice. This information is to be used in conjunction with other resource material, which may include the applicable patient handbook, Boston Scientific device physician's manual and any implant accessories instructions for use.