Keeping a Beat on the Heart

Feel the relief of a patient suffering from heart arrhythmia, who is able to return home while having her heart monitored by health professionals 24 hours a day, without the fear that she will miss an important indicator and suffer a fatal heart attack - using technology originally developed to conduct experiments on the Space Shuttle. Approximately 400,000 Americans die every year from sudden heart attacks . Medical research revealed that patterns of electrical activity in the heart can act as predictors of these lethal cardiac events known as arrhythmias. Fortunately, certain arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation (loss of regular heartbeat and subsequent loss of function) and ventricular tachycardia (rapid heartbeats), can be detected and appropriately treated. Today, patients at moderate risk of arrhythmias can benefit from technology that would permit long- term continuous monitoring of electrical cardiac rhythms outside the hospital environment in the comfort of their own homes. Medical telemetry systems, also known as telemedicine, are evolving rapidly as wireless communication technology advances, evidenced by the commercial products and research prototypes for remote health monitoring that have appeared in recent years. Wireless systems allow patients to move freely in their home and work environment while being monitored remotely by health care professionals.