What if I told you that there was technology for monitoring your heart function, such as blood pressure or heart rate that could be found in your shoe, your cell phone or your watch? Would you think that was something coming in the future? Well, I am here to tell you that this technology exists today.
American Heart Month
February is American Heart Month and as a nurse patient advocate who is always looking at healthcare products that can empower clients, I will share some digital heart technology that can be used by you to monitor your heart function.
Knowing The Important Numbers
The American Heart Association reports that heart disease is the number one cause of death for men and women in the U.S.today. There are many campaigns during February reminding the public about the risk factors for heart disease and what you can do to prevent your chances of getting heart disease. Early identification of risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, increased heart rate, obesity and inactivity are vital to heart health.
Prevention
Using a prevention strategy that includes digital monitoring can all be part of an effective strategy to prevent heart disease or manage disease if you already have it. The convenience of having devices that you can use to monitor these functions, such as blood pressure and heart rate can make the difference in staying aware, being compliant and being your own best advocate in your care plan.
Technology
Monitoring technology and wearable devices, such as fitbits and Smart Watches have been available for the past few years and have been used to help manage personal health. In 2018, Accenture, a global management consulting company did a survey of wearable medical devices, such as fitbits and smart watches and found the trend of their use increased from 9% in 2014 to 33% in 2018.
Apple Health has included apps on devices such as the Apple iPhone and the Apple Watch that can notify you if there are significant changes in your heart status. Heart rate notifications can be set up on these devices, which can alert you if they are above or below a set rate. Trending this heart rate information can be useful for you if monitoring your heart for an abnormal rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation, is important. Consistently having a rapid heart rate could be a tip that something is wrong and if this occurs you should see your physician or go to the emergency room. The Apple Watch series 4 also has an ECG app which has the ability to capture an irregular heart rate or a “skipped beat”. This app also tracks your heart rate and provides an area where you can put in any symptoms you are experiencing such as shortness of breath, chest pain or dizziness. Recording of this real-time information of a documented heart rate change and symptoms are important and can be used by physicians when they are making a diagnosis. Always remember, if you have any questions about your symptoms, call your physician or call 911 if you have any concerns or need immediate attention. Never delay your concerns when it comes to heart health or new symptoms.
Sensing Devices
In addition to these devices, there are new sensing devices that have been used in athletic shoes to track health indicators such as heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate. FootWARE, a product put out by the manufacturer TacSense, has a sensing technology that can measure cardiac indicators as well as monitor balance, movement and stress levels. This product is currently not available in the U.S. but it is due to be introduced here in 2020. Imagine that just by putting on a pair of shoes and walking, you can monitor your cardiac status and know what your heart is doing at any given time!
Maintaining a Healthy Heart
The overall benefit of the use of these wearable medical monitoring devices is to enable you to be an active participant in your care. Those who monitor themselves daily and who are aware of their vital signs, particularly blood pressure and heart rate are more apt to be compliant with their treatment plan and get better outcomes. Having this clinical information can encourage you to have an open dialogue with your physician and healthcare team. Being empowered and actively involved in your care is an important objective in staying heart healthy.
As a nurse patient advocate, heart health and monitoring is a goal often set early on when developing treatment plans with our clients. The use of this technology, in addition to healthy lifestyle habits and a cardiac treatment plan developed with a physician, are the components needed to sustain a healthy heart. Why not take this month and make sure you’re doing everything you can to stay heart healthy! You and your heart deserve it!