December 22, 2014 — AliveCor Inc. announced the launch of its third-generation AliveCor Heart Monitor. Now users have the ability to identify and manage heart conditions with a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor, anywhere and at anytime. The third-generation device is now 50-percent thinner and 40-percent lighter and was designed from first-hand customer feedback and in collaboration with global design firm IDEO.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) continues to be the most common heart rhythm disturbance, affecting more than 140 million people worldwide. AliveCor is focused on helping those with diagnosed and undiagnosed heart conditions, by providing patients and caregivers a tool to detect and manage heart conditions.
Users of the AliveCor Heart Monitor are recording 130,000 ECGs per month and actively tracking over 10,000 symptoms, medications and activities that may be affecting their health. In the two months since the AF Detector algorithm was launched, AliveCor has detected more than 20,000 incidents of AF in more than 30 percent of users recording ECGs.
Detecting AF is the first step to initiating a treatment plan to reduce stroke risk, as people with AF are five times more likely to suffer a stroke than those without the condition. Additionally, users continue to engage with the product over time: 70 percent are regularly using the device after six months.
“I used to get frustrated when I would experience what I thought was an AF episode but couldn’t get to the doctor’s office fast enough to confirm my instincts,” said Terry Reilly, AliveCor patient since 2012. “With the AliveCor Heart Monitor, I am relieved to have an easy-to-use tool at my fingertips that can instantly detect my AF episodes when they happen.”
“The AliveCor Heart Monitor leads to results that I can use to manage my patients remotely, a trend that is here to stay," said Jeffrey Olgin, M.D., chief, division of cardiology co-director, Heart and Vascular Center at the University of California San Francisco. “Seeing my patients’ ECG results in real-time is the next best thing to having them in my office when the event takes place.”
“Big data and personalized medicine are revolutionizing the delivery of care and have the potential to disrupt the way we think about healthcare. We are excited to be on the forefront of helping patients manage their cardiac health,” said Euan Thomson, president and chief executive officer at AliveCor. “The newest generation of the Heart Monitor confirms AliveCor’s ongoing commitment to help stop the unnecessary loss of life and healthcare costs driven by undiagnosed and under-managed heart arrhythmias that lead to potentially life-threatening conditions like strokes.”
For more information: www.alivecor.com