Where is the CardioMEMS placed?
The sensor is implanted during a minimally invasive procedure. The CardioMEMS HF System is a paperclip-sized sensor with a thin, curved wire at each end. A cardiologist implants the device in a patient’s pulmonary artery using a catheter, a small flexible tube inserted through the femoral vein located in their groin.
How is CardioMEMS inserted?
Your cardiologist or electrophysiologist will insert a catheter into your femoral vein. Using an X-rays as a guide, the catheter is threaded through your vein to your heart and into your pulmonary artery. When the catheter is placed, the CardioMEMS device – the sensor – is released into your artery.
Who is a candidate for CardioMEMS?
Who is a candidate for CardioMEMS? The CardioMEMS remote monitoring system is approved for patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III heart failure and who have been hospitalized for heart failure in the previous year.
What is a CardioMEMS implant?
The CardioMEMS™ uses a small, wireless monitoring sensor implanted in the pulmonary artery to directly measure the arterial pressure. The system allows patients to transmit this data from their homes to their health care providers allowing for personalized and proactive heart failure management.
What is a CardioMEMS pillow?
CardioMEMS is a miniature, wireless sensor, implanted into the patient’s pulmonary artery. It monitors pulmonary artery pressures. The patient lies on a special pillow for a short time each day.
How much does CardioMEMS cost?
Table 3
| CardioMEMS | Standard of Care | |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs | $188,880 | $162,772 |
| Implant: device, procedure, complications | $19,111 | $0 |
| Inpatient costs | $108,124 | $113,199 |
| Outpatient costs (including monitoring) | $61,645 | $49,573 |
Is CardioMEMS permanent?
The CardioMEMS TM HF System sensor is permanently implanted into the distal pulmonary artery (PA) using transcatheter techniques in the catheterization laboratory (A); the sensor baseline is set to the mean PA pressure using a pulmonary artery catheter.
What does the CardioMEMS measure?
CardioMEMS features an implantable, wireless pulmonary artery pressure sensor that measures pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), a factor in hemodynamic congestion.
Does Medicare pay for CardioMEMS?
All local Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) implicitly cover CardioMEMS implant and remote monitoring procedures based on “reasonable and necessary” guidelines.
Is CardioMEMS covered by insurance?
Currently, there is no NCD related to the CardioMEMS HF System. The local MACs provide coverage for the CardioMEMS HF System in the absence of a national policy. To date, there are no LCDs for CardioMEMS (implant and monitoring) and the MACs cover these services based on general “reasonable and necessary” guidelines.