Omron, AliveCor addresses heart disease reduction for American Heart Month
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — In honor of American Heart Month, Omron Healthcare and AliveCor are empowering people to take charge of their health through technology. With Omron’s new line of blood pressure monitors and AliveCor’s mobile wireless electrocardiogram, the risk of heart attack and stroke has the potential to be reduced, the companies announced Thursday.
“It comes down to providing the right tools and educating Americans about taking good care of their number one organ – the heart,” stated Ranndy Kellogg, COO Omron Healthcare. “If we can get more people to start monitoring their blood pressure and ECG readings at home on a consistent basis, we can help save lives.”
Omron recently launched their most precise monitors ever with Advanced Accuracy to help ensure accurate readings. The company said that five times more data points are captured for a more precise reading; more data points are captured, and interferences such as breathing and movement have less of an impact. Premium units include the ComFit cuff, which inflates around the entire arm to avoid incorrect positioning. Omron’s proprietary algorithm allows for more consistency and precision.
Omron’s Bluetooth Smart blood pressure monitors (10 Series Wireless Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor and 7 Series Wireless Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor) enable users to take accurate blood pressure readings and then wirelessly transfer readings to their smartphone so they can know their stats anywhere, anytime. Launched last summer, the new upgraded Omron Wellness app is available for free at the Apple App Store and Google Play. The Omron Wellness app now integrates with Apple Health, incorporates email sharing of data with family or physicians and offers a hypertension notification when taking a reading.
Atrial fibrillation continues to be the most common heart rhythm disturbance, affecting more than 140 million people worldwide. With the Food and Drug Administration-approved AliveCor Heart Monitor, users don’t have to be in a doctor’s office to get an accurate ECG. They can take a reading at home or on-the-go and easily share ECGs, AFib episodes and symptoms with a doctor immediately or at their next appointment.
Most recently AliveCor received FDA clearance on two new algorithms for their AliveECG app. AliveCor’s new algorithms include a Detector that displays automatically when an ECG is normal. The other new Detector will notify users immediately if there is any interference in a recording, sometimes called noise or artifact, which can make the ECG difficult to interpret. These new features are expected to be available this quarter, the company noted.