Forget ECG, AliveCor App Can Almost Accurately Predict Heart Attacks

Teknologi.id - There's now a smartphone app, called AliveCor, which can be used to determine if you're experiencing a fatal heart attack. Through a study conducted by a team of researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, it was discovered that AliveCor's app determines heart attacks with very near accuracy. The app has an accuracy of a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), which is used often by medical facilities to diagnose heart attacks.

At a touch of your fingers, you can now determine if you're having a heart attack. Credit: AliveCor

Specifically the ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), a heart attack which occurs when an artery is completely blocked, not allowing oxygen and nutrients to flow into the body and back into the heart. "We found this app may dramatically speed things up and save your life," lead investigator and cardiovascular researcher J. Brent Muhlestein says.

AliveCor app will reduce the time needed to determine if you're having a heart attack. Credit: Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials

The research was conducted on 204 patients who were suffering from chest pains. They were tested using ECG and the app which was administered through a two-wire attachment connected to the smartphone.

"We found the app helped us diagnose heart attacks very effectively -- and it didn't indicate the presence of a heart attack when one wasn't occurring," Dr. Muhlestein says. With this revelation, there are two reasons to celebrate.

Say goodbye to expensive and clunky ECG machines. Credit: Heart Foundation

The first is the fact that the process to determine if you're having a heart attack is expedited painlessly without the painful use of a catherer which takes approximately 90-minutes to insert.

Through the two-wire attachment, an electrocardiogram is taken on the spot and the data is sent to the cloud where a cardiologist reviews it to immediately notify patients if a STEMI is found. Second reason, the app is far cheaper than an actual ECG machine! You can purchase the app here. (DWK)