A study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26) on Mar. 29 found that using a noninvasive device to monitor fluid buildup in the lungs significantly reduced hospitalizations and deaths among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
This finding is important because heart failure often leads to repeated hospital stays and increased mortality, particularly when fluid accumulates in the lungs. Early detection and management of this congestion can improve patient outcomes.
The research showed that patients whose treatment was guided by the CardioSet Edema Guard Monitor were 74% less likely to be hospitalized for heart failure or die from it during a follow-up period of more than three years. Clinicians adjusted medications more than twice as often, making changes earlier in response to lung congestion detected by the device. "This device offers a way to change the treatment of patients with heart failure in order to start treatment early—before the patient starts to experience symptoms," said Michael Kleiner-Shochat, MD, professor and head of the heart failure clinic at Hillel Yaffe Institute of Cardiology in Hadera, Israel, and first author of the study. "The secret of success is to enable us to intervene at the preclinical stage when the reaction to treatment is more powerful."
CardioSet measures resistance to electrical current (impedance) across lung tissue; as fluid increases, impedance drops. The device uses additional electrodes compared with previous noninvasive techniques, allowing it to filter out noise from surrounding chest tissue for more accurate readings even with small changes in lung fluid levels. "It's a simple, scalable device that could be used at each point of care—in clinics and, in the future, in the patient's home—and you can get indications about the patient's lung fluid status very quickly," said Kleiner-Shochat.
In this single-center trial involving 150 HFpEF patients over an average follow-up period exceeding three years, those receiving care guided by lung impedance data had fewer hospitalizations (19 versus 93 events), longer time before first hospitalization (602 days versus 83 days), lower all-cause death rates (60% reduction), and lower death rates from heart failure (74% reduction). No adverse events related to use of CardioSet were reported.
Researchers noted that these benefits surpassed those seen previously among patients with reduced ejection fraction forms of heart failure (HFrEF). They suggested that clinicians' familiarity with diuretic adjustments based on earlier studies may have contributed positively here as well.
Kleiner-Shochat said broader studies across multiple sites are needed: "A study conducted at multiple sites across different countries could help confirm feasibility and effectiveness...in a broader range of settings." The trial was conducted without external funding.
