The device that raised the alarm and saved my life

24 Jul 2026 12:24 PM

Blog posted by: Gavin Redhead, Patient advocate, 23 July 2026.

How heart failure healthtech recommended by NICE helped transform my life.

I’ve had heart health issues for most of my life; I was born with a hole in my heart which did resolve itself but left me with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease where the heart muscle becomes thickened. My condition got steadily worse and in 2019 I was diagnosed with severe heart failure. 

I’ve got a new lease of life, and I’ve got to meet my grandson, which is the most precious gift of all.

Gavin Redhead patient advocate

Signing up for a clinical trial changed everything 

I signed up to be part of a clinical trial called Triage HF. The trial looked at using implanted devices to monitor patients remotely.  

The TriageHF device detects subtle changes in your body that signal trouble ahead, such as changes in fluid levels in the chest, heart rhythm irregularities, or reduced physical activity. Most importantly, they can spot these warning signs up to 30 days before a patient would typically notice symptoms or need hospital treatment. This is exactly what the device did for me. 

Data from the trial I was on in Manchester was used by NICE when producing its guidance on algorithm-based remote monitoring in people with cardiac implantable electronic devices, which was published in 2024. 

When my device raised the alarm 

With heart failure, you can have good and bad days. Until I had a call from my clinical team, there were no warning signs to tell me I was in trouble. They told me that my device was indicating that I was experiencing atrial fibrillation and I needed to be seen as soon as possible.  

Following further tests at the hospital, they confirmed I had atrial fibrillation and advised me to start thinking about having a heart transplant.  

I was transferred to the transplant team, and following a 3-day assessment, I was selected as a candidate for the routine transplant list. After 5 weeks, I was contacted at home to say they’d found a match and could I come in. I could not believe it; I was expecting to be on the list for months, or years, certainly not a few weeks! 

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