FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mercy Launches Remote Heart Failure Monitoring System Comprehensive LATITUDE® System Provides Patients with Remote Follow-Up, Monitoring from the Comfort of Home

Canton, Ohio: Mercy Medical Center now offers remote monitoring for patients with an implanted CRT (cardiac resynchronization therapy) defibrillator for heart failure (HF) therapy. Called LATITUDE® Heart Failure Management, this system allows physicians to supervise a patient's heart health on a daily basis from home and reduce the frequency of in-office follow-ups.

LATITUDE system tools, which are set according to physician instructions, include a blood pressure monitor, a weight scale with alert capability, device diagnostics and symptom self-report questions. All data is transmitted through a secured Web site.

Ahmed A. El Ghamry Sabe, M.D., medical director of the Mercy Heart Center, noted that heart failure is one of the leading reasons patients end up in the hospital. "The LATITUDE system helps us manage HF more effectively," he said. "Revised guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (AHA) specifically address the benefit of blood pressure and weight monitoring in HF patients. By monitoring these vital signs from a patient's home, we can identify and treat problems sooner, minimizing the need for hospitalization."

LATITUDE also helps patients play an active role in caring for themselves. In monitoring weight and blood pressure ? and answering important questions when prompted by the system ? patients can better understand their own condition while providing timely insights for their physician.

Teree Rice, R.N., coordinator of the Mercy Heart Failure program, will provide her expertise and services to area physicians who want her to monitor their HF patients' weight, blood pressure, symptoms, activity level and arrhythmias via LATITUDE. Teree offers another set of eyes to watch HF patients, providing them with timely education and assistance, said Sabe.

According to the AHA's Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, updated in 2008, more than five million Americans over the age of 20 have HF. The condition occurs in 10 out of every 1,000 Americans over age 65 and disables about 22 percent of male and 46 percent of female heart attack victims within six years. In people diagnosed with HF, sudden cardiac death occurs at six to nine times the rate of the general population.

Hospital discharges for HF rose from 400,000 in 1979 to 1,084,000 in 2005, an increase of 171 percent. The estimated direct and indirect cost of HF in the United States for 2008 is $34.8 billion.

Sabe added that with growing Baby Boomer retirements, the aging U.S. population will be at an increased risk for HF. He said, "Mercy is preparing the best systems to help manage HF using advanced technology that no other Canton hospital offers at this time."

Mercy Medical Center, a nonprofit corporation of the Sisters of Charity Health System and University Hospitals Health System, operates a 476-bed hospital serving Stark, Carroll, Wayne, Holmes and Tuscarawas Counties and parts of Southeastern Ohio. It has 550 physicians on its Medical Staff and employs 2,500 people. Mercy operates outpatient health centers in Carrollton, Jackson Township, Lake Township, Louisville and North Canton. A Catholic hospital, Mercy Medical Center upholds the mission and philosophy of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and continues to be responsive to the needs of the community, including the provision of care to all, regardless of their ability to pay.