Updated: 10/19/2009 8:01 PM KSTP.com | Print |  Email
By: Becky Nahm

Tool Could Cut Costs of Treating Heart Failure

 Learn more at Mayo Clinic

Treating heart failure patients costs $25 billion each year.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic hope to make it more affordable with a new device.

They're working to design a monitor that will continuously track heart rate, blood pressure, activity levels and breathing.

The information would be fed to a location where trained technicians assess the data.

Dr. Charles Bruce with the Mayo Clinic said, "Depending on that input we can determine whether the patients needs to see their physician or maybe we'd up their medications to try to prevent them from having to come into the hospital in the first place."

The monitor is currently being tested at the hospital, but the next phase will be to have patients wear the monitor at their homes.