For 72 year-old Geneva Wigginton, being in the hospital during the holidays wasn’t nearly so bad as being unable to make her holiday treats. Following a new procedure recently at Western Baptist Hospital, she was home in time for the holidays and felt good enough to take part in her favorite hobbies—baking and cooking.
  For several months, Wigginton had felt too poorly to spend time in the kitchen. In September, after bouts of shortness of breath and fatigue, Wigginton decided to seek help.
Her physician, J. Kenneth Ford, M.D., of The Heart Group, diagnosed congestive heart failure, implanted a stent to correct a blockage in her heart and prescribed appropriate medications. The combination, however, was not effective.
Wigginton was fortunate to become the first patient in the area to benefit from a cardiac resynchronization therapy device. The implanted device, using wireless technology to aid in patient management, gives new hope to Wigginton and others like her who wish to resume their normal routine and activities.
“The implantable device is a pacemaker that also functions as a defibrillator utilizing wireless technology,” said Dr. Ford. “Once implanted, the patient returns home and is given a monitoring unit that automatically and wirelessly reads implantable device information at times specified by the patient’s physician.”
According to Dr. Ford, the patient’s information is uploaded to a secure website, where the patient’s physician may access it when needed, allowing him or her to monitor the patient’s daily functions.
The technology is beneficial to both patients and physicians. “From a physician’s standpoint, I am able to monitor my patient as needed and easily spot trends and changes in his or her prognosis,” said Dr. Ford. “From a patient’s perspective, he or she benefits from decreased hospital and office visits and from the added security that his or her health is under physician observation daily.”
Wigginton is happy to know that her heart and her health is in capable hands and even happier that she soon will be baking those Christmas cookies for her family.
For more information on wireless cardiac technology at Western Baptist Hospital, visit our website at westernbaptist.com or phone Baptist Health Line at (270) 575-2918.