Unlike many patients with heart failure, Kenneth Jones doesn't have to telephone the doctor's office about changes in his weight or blood pressure.

	Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Kenneth Jones of Tarentum is able to send medical information, such as his blood pressure shown here, directly to doctors about his heart condition. Click photo for larger image.

Wireless technology conveys the readings to a small tabletop unit at his home. Using his telephone line, the unit automatically sends the readings to medical professionals, along with other data from a device implanted in his chest to assist his heart.

For Mr. Jones, 59, of Tarentum, the technology brings a sense of security.

"It's been like a guardian angel to me," he said.

Mr. Jones' physician, Dr. Srinivas Murali, medical director of Allegheny General Hospital's Cardiovascular Institute, said it may help doctors detect worsening symptoms earlier and reduce the time that patients like Mr. Jones need to spend in the hospital.

Many device manufacturers are developing similar technology, said Dr. Dwight Reynolds, chief of cardiology at the University of Oklahoma and president of the Heart Rhythm Society, a group of experts in cardiac pacing and electrophysiology.

Among the group's members, there is a strong consensus that the wireless devices are helpful, he said, noting that the technology might especially benefit patients in rural areas.

According to the American Heart Association, nearly 5 million Americans have heart failure, which results when the heart continues to beat but no longer pumps effectively. While many patients are treated with medication, some also need help from implanted devices.

As the heart's pumping ability declines, fluid can collect in the lungs, feet or legs, causing weight gain, difficulty breathing or other problems.

While those symptoms often can be controlled, it is common for patients to let them get out of hand, Dr. Murali said.

Often, "we're in the dark about what happens to them at home," he noted.

But the new wireless devices help doctors "recognize changes in patients' conditions before they get sick enough to pick up the phone," Dr. Murali said.

A flashing light every few days on Mr. Jones' device, produced by Guidant Corp., part of Boston Scientific Corp., also tells him that he needs to answer several questions about his health status, such as whether he is tired or has shortness of breath. That information, too, is sent on to the medical team.

At Allegheny General, heart specialists can review it at any time on a secure Web site. Guidant also sends a weekly report about each patient and will notify the hospital if it detects a potential emergency, said Jessica Lazar, a physician assistant who works with Dr. Murali.

While some earlier devices also convey data from home, they typically require more patient involvement and send less information, she said.

Having more data makes it easier to intervene more quickly and decide what patients need, Ms. Lazar said. But the most important benefit, she said, may be the peace of mind it means for patients.

Mr. Jones' device, which makes use of the same wireless Bluetooth technology used in cell phones and laptop computers, assists his heart through cardiac resynchronization therapy, also known as biventricular pacing.

In some heart failure patients, the two ventricles, or lower chambers of the heart, do not pump in a coordinated way, which can exacerbate heart failure symptoms. Implanted resynchronization devices send electrical pulses to help the lower chambers pump together.

Mr. Jones' device, known as a CRT-D, has a built-in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD, which shocks the heart to head off abnormal heart rhythms that can quickly be fatal.

Mr. Jones, who formerly was a smoker and has a family history of heart problems, previously had an ICD that did not provide biventricular pacing, but shocked his heart six times in three years, possibly saving him from sudden cardiac death.

He has had serious heart problems since 1998, when he had three heart attacks followed by bypass surgery.

He said the new device appears to be helping his heart work better, a relief as he waits for a heart transplant. And he is grateful that medical professionals are keeping an eye on his condition.

"If they can see a problem coming," he said, "I feel more secure."