Wanted: A Reliable COMPASS for Heart Failure Management

In a randomized trial, an implantable monitoring device failed to significantly reduce adverse events.

Symptoms leading to hospitalization for heart failure typically result from fluid overload. Usual methods of assessing volume status (e.g., physical examination) are imprecise, limiting their value in identifying patients at risk for cardiac decompensation. In this manufacturer-sponsored, single-blind trial, investigators assessed the effectiveness of an implantable continuous hemodynamic monitor in reducing heart failure–related clinical events.

A total of 274 adults (mean age, 58; approximately 35% women) with NYHA class III or IV symptoms who were receiving optimal medical therapy and had recently been hospitalized for heart failure received an implantable hemodynamic monitor. The system consisted of a programmable device (resembling a pa…

Reviewing Author

Frederick A. Masoudi, MD, MSPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBristol Myers Squibb; CPC Clinical Research

Grant/Research SupportNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; American College of Cardiology Self-Assessment Program (SAP)

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican College of Cardiology (Chair, Innovations Committee)

Frederick A. Masoudi, MD, MSPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBristol Myers Squibb; CPC Clinical Research

Grant/Research SupportNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; American College of Cardiology Self-Assessment Program (SAP)

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican College of Cardiology (Chair, Innovations Committee)