Usually, the solutions for monitoring heart failure are implantable and thus come with the risks of surgery. A research project has now developed a noninvasive solution based on sensor technology integrated into a wearable belt.

Dr. Waseem Asghar explains in an interview with MEDICA-tradefair.com the advantages of a wearable belt when it comes to monitoring heart failure.

Dr. Asghar, why did you choose a wearable belt to monitor heart failure progression?

Dr. Waseem Asghar: Existing solutions for heart failure are implantable solutions including an Implantable Cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and CardioMEMS which remotely monitors changes in pulmonary artery pressure. These solutions are not only expensive but have surgery risks. There is no multivariant noninvasive solution, to the best of our knowledge, that exists to monitor parameters related to heart failure. There are currently 64 million cases of heart failure around the world and 6 million in the US alone. The cases in the US are expected to increase to 8 million by 2030. This increase is due to the unavailability of adequate monitoring solutions. Moreover, not all heart failure patients can qualify for the existing solutions, specially ICD. Only patients with serious heart failure conditions (with reduced ejection fraction) can qualify for the ICD. The rest (with preserved ejection fraction) that make up 50 percent of the total heart failure patients do not qualify for the ICD.