New data are out for a tool for cardiac monitoring that could improve diagnosis of heart arrhythmias, which could be life-saving for senior living residents with heart disease.
Zio, a wearable patch produced by digital healthcare company iRhythm, has been around since 2014, monitors heart health and helps diagnose actionable arrhythmias, including ventricular arrhythmias. Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy had better health outcomes with long-term monitoring of up to 14 days with Zio’s technology, according to the company.
Additionally, a premature ventricular complexes study of 106,705 patients showed increased monitoring for seven to 10 days helped better categorize patients by PVC burden level, which could improve diagnosis and make sure heart patients are treated with the proper medication or other treatment options.
Cardiac arrhythmias, abnormal heart rhythms, are the likely cause of more than a quarter of a million deaths annually in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. For senior living operators and other healthcare providers, early detection is key in avoiding adverse health outcomes. New technologies such as this could be helpful in detection, observers believe.
Arrhythmias typically are treated with medication, medical devices like pacemakers, lifestyle changes or surgery. Other arrhythmia monitors on the market include Holter monitors, Kardia/AliveCor portable EKG monitors and other patches and real-time monitors. Wearables like Oura rings and smartwatches also monitor heart function.
Technology has played a huge role recently in improving outcomes for heart disease patients. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin developed a chest “e-tattoo” that can be used for continuous heart monitoring outside of clinical settings with sensors that can detect early signs of heart disease. Meanwhile, a new artificial intelligence algorithm developed by researchers at Cedars Sinai Medical also may be able to predict risk of heart attacks or other cardiac events based on patient health data and heart images.
