Heart failure patients went home earlier with a wearable pump and spent more days at home

If you or someone you love has heart failure, here is good news: a new trial shows that some patients can safely finish their fluid treatment at home instead of staying in the hospital. Those who went home early with a small wearable pump spent more days alive and out of the hospital over the following month.

When heart failure gets worse, fluid builds up in the lungs and legs. Doctors usually admit patients for several days of diuretics through a vein. Diuretics are medicines that help the body get rid of extra fluid. In this trial, a wearable pump gave that medicine under the skin, so patients could keep the treatment going from their own homes.

How the study worked

Researchers at several hospitals in the United Kingdom randomly assigned 172 patients with heart failure, who still needed injected diuretics, to go home early with the pump or to get usual hospital care. The trial was published Oct. 13, 2026, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Patients and doctors knew which group they were in, which is normal for a trial like this. The pump group, 92 people, got a check-up every 3 days while using it, and everyone had a clinic visit at 2 weeks.

What they found

The main measure was days alive and out of the hospital in the first 30 days. The pump group got about 4 more of those days than the usual care group, exactly 4.0 days. Their first hospital stay was also shorter, by an average of 5.5 days.

The gain lasted. At 60 days, the pump group still had about 4 more days alive and out of the hospital (4.2 days).

Serious health problems were about as common in both groups: 25% with early discharge and 23% with usual care. The pump itself had problems in only 3% of placements, and none were serious.

One more detail is worth knowing. More people in the pump group came back to the hospital for heart failure: 14% of them, compared with 6% in the usual care group. Even so, they came out ahead on days spent at home.

Why a pump under the skin?

The medicine here was furosemide, a common diuretic. It was a gentle, pH-neutral form made to go just under the skin. A small device worn on the body, which the patient can operate, delivers it. That is what makes it possible to leave the hospital while treatment continues.

What you can do today

If someone close to you has heart failure, help them start a daily weight log this week. Weigh in each morning, write the number down, and agree together on how much weight gain means it is time to call the doctor. Catching fluid early is the best way to keep more days at home.