AliveCor Mobile ECG image courtesy of AliveCor
September 10, 2015 — AliveCor Inc. announced significant milestones related to patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) using the AliveCor Mobile ECG. Since receiving the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for the AF Detector, an algorithm to detect atrial fibrillation in an ECG (electrocardiogram), 30 percent of AliveCor patients have received an AFib detection. Additionally, more than 50 percent of U.S. users with an AFib detection received that detection within one week of their first AliveCor ECG recording, and close to 80 percent received it within one month.
September is AFib Awareness Month in the United States, which was started in 2009 by the Heart Rhythm Society in an effort to raise awareness of the increased prevalence of the disease and the associated risk of stroke in AFib patients. AFib is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and increases the risk of stroke up to five times. AFib can be hard to detect, as symptoms, including heart palpitations, may be mild or non-existent. The ability to automatically detect AFib using mobile technology like the AliveCor Mobile ECG has now proven to be an effective and important step in the detection of AFib so physicians can intervene before potentially life-threatening conditions, like strokes, occur.
"Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in the United States. It can be challenging to detect, as almost 50 percent of patients are asymptomatic, until they develop a stroke or heart failure, which can be devastating. Being able to diagnose AFib before the development of complications has the potential to significantly improve the lives of numerous people," said Richard Wong, M.D., FACC, adult cardiologist, Kaiser Permanente Medical Group. "Having a mobile ECG monitoring device like the AliveCor Mobile ECG has been extremely helpful for me in my practice, specifically when screening for this potentially life-threatening arrhythmia."
An important step in AFib management is to understand a patient's lifestyle, daily activities and symptoms. The AliveECG app includes the Heart Journal, a feature that allows users to log daily activities, tag symptoms and events in real-time that can impact heart health and work to identify abnormalities. As this information is tracked alongside ECGs, both the patient and the treating physician have a more comprehensive picture of how the heart behaves under everyday conditions. Currently, 63 percent of U.S. users have tagged their ECGs in their Heart Journal.
"AliveCor's Heart Journal has been a helpful and easy way for me to learn about what is going on with my own heart by tracking my activities. Now, I do not have to try and remember what to tell my physician as I can easily share my notes and logs, and we can review the information together," said Linda Jankovic, an AliveCor user since June 2015.
AliveCor has seen tremendous growth throughout the past four years including expanded regulatory clearances, the launch of three algorithms, and adding almost 4 million AliveCor ECGs recorded into the AliveCor database. Additionally, the company has more than doubled the number of regular users and recordings in the last year and continues to expand globally, having entered nine new countries in 2015.
For more information: www.alivecor.com
