Hope & Encouragement
By: Madison Burke
As 84-year-old Joan Camp laid in her hospital bed waiting to become the first patient in mid-Missouri to receive a CardioMEMS device, it wasn’t fear or anxiety she was feeling; it was hope and encouragement.
Joan was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2011, and describes the following years as a “downward spiral” that included two open-heart surgeries, two valve replacements and constant hospital stays. When she was diagnosed, Joan was living in Atlanta near her daughter Lisa while her son Mark lived in Columbia. However, last year, Lisa and Joan moved to Columbia to be closer to family.
The family did their research before Joan moved and decided that she would be cared for by Dan Pierce, MD, at Boone Hospital Center. Dr. Pierce adjusted Joan’s medications and recommended Joan get a pacemaker, both of which Joan says “helped a lot.”
Dr. Pierce, who is always studying the latest procedures and technologies in the industry, became interested in the new CardioMEMS device when it first came out in late 2014.
CardioMEMS is a small device that is implanted in the pulmonary artery using a catheter-based procedure. The device is a permanent implant with no battery or replaceable parts. It is the first and only FDA-approved heart failure monitoring device that has been proven to reduce hospitalizations in heart patients. The device monitors patients’ pulmonary artery pressure and then transmits the readings to their health care providers. The physician is able to tell when patients are having concerns before they actually have symptoms.
Dr. Pierce traveled to Los Angeles to get trained in working with CardioMEMS devices and then spent several months working to get Boone Hospital ready for the device. Early this summer, Boone Hospital was ready to offer CardioMEMS to its first patient, and Dr. Pierce felt Joan could really benefit from it.
“Joan has spent a lot of time in the hospital the past few years, so I feel the CardioMEMS will provide a way for her to stay safely at home while we monitor her progress. This device is also a way for us to know how to treat Joan before she ever starts feeling poorly and requires hospitalization,” Dr. Pierce says.
Joan underwent the implementation without complication and is now living comfortably at home. The CardioMEMS device transmits radio frequencies letting Dr. Pierce know how Joan is doing, and he keeps her updated.
“Less hospital stays and a longer life are both things I’m looking forward to because of this procedure. I’m so grateful Boone Hospital offered this right here in Columbia,” Joan says