Heart failure (HF) is becoming increasingly recognized with an estimated worldwide prevalence of >37.7 million individuals. In the United States alone, there are over 5 million patients with HF which is expected to increase to over 8 million by 2030. Despite advances in medical therapies and technology, HF remains the leading cause of hospitalization among adults and the elderly. By 2030, the medical costs of HF are expected to rise from $20.9 billion to $53.1 billion, with nearly 80% of the projected increased expenses attributes to hospitalization costs. As such, it is imperative to develop new technologies and treatment options to impact the HF epidemic.~The majority of HF hospital admissions are due to volume overload. Stiffened and/or weakened myocardium predisposes patients to the accumulation of extracellular fluid resulting in increased intracardiac filling pressures and symptoms of congestion (edema, dyspnea and orthopnea). Accurate assessment of a patient's volume status remains clinically challenging at times. While there have been technological advances in the outpatient monitoring of volume status through thoracic impedance and pulmonary artery pressure monitoring, there are no validated, non-implantable options for monitoring volume status outside of the physical exam.~Aidar Health's MouthLab device is a non-invasive, hand-held, home monitoring tool that measures multiple medical parameters such as - Temperature, Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability, Pulse Rate, SpO2, single-lead ECG, Respiratory Rate, Breathing Pattern/Respiratory Flow Cycle Morphology, and basic lung functions (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, PEF) in 30 seconds.~The investigators believe that the MouthLab device holds the potential to identify changes in volume status through measurements such as pulse rate, oxygen saturation, respiratory flow and lung function and accurately predict decompensation in patients with chronic HF. The investigators propose the following outline of clinical studies to evaluate the utility of the MouthLab device in HF.
The goal is to evaluate the trends in MouthLab parameters (respiration rate, temperature, pulse rate, electrocardiogram rhythm, blood pressure, oxygen saturation heart rate and basic lung function measures) in patients with decompensated heart failure and how these measurements change in response to decongestion. The research will test the ability of the MouthLab device to predict clinical decompensation in patients with known heart failure and to reduce the number of hospital readmissions based on the treatment guided by MouthLab device data.