Battery

Could anyone tell me how much battery is used to interrogate your CRT-D pacer each week. The EP wants to continue this weekly instead of every 3 months. I am feeling good and she says all is well. I don't want to be replacing pacer any sooner than necessary. What do you think. Thanks for your support. My device was implanted 2/19/14.

2 Comments

Thanks

by tanapuff - 2014-06-07 01:06:36

Thank you Inga for your information. I will look up the web site. It is always good to get feedback from someone so knowledgeable. It makes sense when you explain it so thoroughly.

Battery life vs. benefit

by golden_snitch - 2014-06-07 11:06:22

Hi!

I guess that varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Not 100% sure, but I think I read somewhere that, if I had my home monitoring activated and it would send out data every 24 hours, 3% of the battery will be used by this feature. Not everytime it sends out data, but all together over the lifespan of probably around 10 years.

So, I don't think that a weekly report will cost you that much battery. And certainly it will in the end not be the remote monitoring alone that causes an earlier replacement than planned. There are so many other aspects that can shorten the battery life.

There are several studies that have shown benefits in home monitoring of ICD and CRT devices, most importantly a reduced mortality rate. One of them is the "IN-TIME" study, my EP is the study-coordinator:
http://www.cxvascular.com/crn-latest-news/cardiac-rhythm-news---latest-news/in-time-study-shows-significant-reduction-in-all-cause-mortality-in-icd-and-crt-d-patients-with-remote-monitoring--

Recently, in May, there was also a study presented at HRS annual sessions indicating that home monitoring also cuts mortality risk even in patients with pacemakers. It concludes:

"Patients with high adherence to remote monitoring – measured as weekly transmission of patient data from the Merlin@Home System to the Merlin.net™ Patient Care Network at least 75 percent of the time – overall had a 58 percent reduced likelihood of mortality than patients not using remote monitoring and a 35 percent reduced likelihood of mortality than patients with low remote monitoring." http://investors.sjm.com/investors/financial-news/news-release-details/2014/Pacemaker-and-Defibrillator-Patients-Adhering-to-Remote-Monitoring-with-St-Jude-Medicals-Merlin-Technology-Saw-More-than-Double-Survival-Rate/default.aspx

However, nothing has been said about what the patients not using home monitoring or using it less often died from. The study hasn't been published, yet, just presented, so we need to wait for the journal article to get more details.

For me, the data on the benefits of home monitoring for a device like yours are pretty clear; for simple pacemakers I do not see the same benefits. But with a CRT-D, even if home monitoring would shorten the battery life a bit, I'd make that deal, if I were you.

Best wishes
Inga

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Do feel free to contact the manufacturer of your device. I have found them to be quite helpful when I have had questions and concerns.