11 Jul Mobile health devices diagnose hidden heart condition in at-risk populations

Posted at 15:28h in All of Us by

Scripps Research Institute via EurekAlert

Wearable mobile health devices improved the rate of diagnosis of a dangerous and often hidden heart condition called atrial fibrillation (AFib), according to a first of its kind, home-based clinical study conducted in part by researchers at the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI).

By catching AFib, which can increase the risk of stroke fivefold, in people who are at risk but might have gone undiagnosed, the mobile health (mHealth) devices resulted in more people receiving critical preventive therapies, the study found.

“Our study shows an almost threefold improvement in the rate of diagnosis of AFib in the those actively monitored compared to usual care,” says Steven Steinhubl, MD, director of digital medicine at STSI and an associate professor at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). “Timely diagnosis of AFib more effectively can enable the initiation of effective therapies and help reduce strokes and death.”

Findings from the mHealth Screening To Prevent Strokes (mSToPS) study were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Read more …