Can Pacemakers, Defibrillators, and Internal Heart Failure Devices Be Used to Evaluate and Guide Management in the Emergency Department?

This is a prospective observational pilot study to determine if stored data regarding heart function, patient activity level, and other parameters can be used by the ED physician in order to evaluate a patient's cardiac status as it pertains to heart failure. Patients presenting to the ED and who consent have their devices interrogated by research personnel. The data is printed and provided to the treating physician who completes a brief survey about whether the data was useful in managing the patient.All subjects are contacted 30 days after ED or hospital discharge to determine if they have had any ED visits or hospital admissions during that period, and if yes, whether the visits were heart failure related. After all study procedures are performed, a team of 2 cardiologists will review the patient medical record from the study visit, as well as the data obtained from the patient's device in the ED. Each cardiologist, who will be blinded to the other's conclusion, will determine if the patient was having a heart failure exacerbation at the study visit.