Fitbit and Belgium-based FibriCheck announced today that device owners living in certain UK countries now have access to a smartwatch app that uses photoplethysmography (PPG) to detect heart rhythm irregularities such as atrial fibrillation.
Available in Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands and Ireland, the CE-marked tool is similar to FibriCheck’s smartphone app in that it uses light and sensors to...
Hello Heart, maker of a digital chronic disease health program for employees, has raised $12 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with additional support from previous backers BlueRun Ventures, Maven Ventures and Resolute Ventures.
WHAT THEY DO
Hello Heart’s bread and butter is its app-driven platform for hypertension, blood pressure and general cardiovascular health...
A study published last month in JMIR Cardio demonstrated significant systolic and diastolic blood pressure reductions in hypertension patients who received a mobile app-based behavior change intervention.
The investigation examined Better Therapeutics’ candidate digital therapeutic for cardiovascular disease, a daily-use app that encourages users to set and record their progress toward...
A&E departments in the UK should introduce AliveCor’s KardiaMobile device into standard care, researchers have said, for patients presenting with heart palpitations or feeling lightheaded, after a study found it was five times more effective than current tests used to diagnose heart rhythm problems.
Although often harmless, if patients fully recover before getting to A&E, detecting the...
As predicted, the Apple Watch's version 5.1.2 update went live today, giving anyone in the United States with an Apple Watch Series 4 the ability to take an ECG reading on the wrist. Alongside the active ECG, the Watch's passive irregular rhythm detection feature launched today as well.
"We are confident in the ability of these features to help users have more informed conversations with their...
This morning maker of heart failure management and remote monitoring devices Endotronix scored $45 million in a Series D financing round led by LSP, with participation from Aperture Venture Partners, BioVentures Investors, Lumira Ventures, OSF Ventures, Seroba Life Sciences, SV Health Investors, Wanxiang Healthcare Investments, and an unnamed corporate investor.
“We are thrilled with the world-...
Argentinian ambulance doctors are using WhatsApp to fasttrack their patients’ care. Study data presented at the Argentine Congress of Cardiology’s 2017 conference suggests that using the free messaging app to send diagnostic electrocardiograms (ECGs) directly to a hospital’s catheterization lab allowed heart attack patients to bypass the emergency department and reduce mortality.
“We found that...
A mobile hypertension prevention program (HPP) delivered through Noom’s mobile health coaching service appears to significantly benefit users with consistently high blood pressure, according to a study conducted by the company and recently published in the Journal of Human Hypertension.
In fact, greater engagement with the HPP resulted in even higher reductions in weight and blood pressure,...
Update: This story has been updated to include additional quotes from the study's researchers.
Heart disease patients visiting mobile health clinics outfitted with pocket-sized, smartphone-connected ECGs and other point-of-care medical devices are more quickly referred for therapy, and less frequently experience hospitalization or death.
According to a recent study, published in the Journal of...
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and most people are already on their way towards that fate: 99 percent of the population has at least one of seven cardiovascular health risks. In addition to being incredibly common, it’s costly – racking up $207 billion per year in medical expenditures and lost productivity. But a new study suggests workplace programs that...
