SMART PHONE EKG ATTACHMENT HELPS SAVE LIVES

A smartphone attachment which costs less than $90 is helping to save the lives of people at risk from strokes. The Kardia gadgets have been helping find abnormal heart rhythms in patients whose symptoms could otherwise have been missed. They are now being used by podiatrists across the NHS board in the Western Isles to vastly speed up treatment times. An irregular pulse is one of the symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation (AF), a heart condition that can put someone at greater risk of suffering a stroke.

 

Louise Campbell

 

Podiatrist Louise Campbell has described the technology as “invaluable”. She said, “As podiatrists, we regularly listen to the pulses of the lower limb as part of our routine assessment. “Now, with the introduction of the Kardia monitor to the Western Isles podiatry team, we are able to easily capture an ECG at the moment an altered rhythm is noted, which the cardiac specialist nursing team can then interpret. This not only saves valuable time for the patient and GP surgeries, but can also potentially save lives should AF be detected and diagnosed earlier as a result.”

 

Source: James Wyllie, The Press and Journal [5/29/21]

Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM News