If You Look For Atrial Fibrillation You Will Find Atrial Fibrillation

If you look hard to find people who have atrial fibrillation (AF) you will in fact find people who have atrial fibrillation, a new paper published in JAMA shows. But the paper offers no evidence whatsoever that the new diagnosis improves outcomes in these people, though it does find that the diagnosis leads to increased use of…

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FDA Approves ECG Band For Apple Watch

(Updated) —Kardia Band is the first FDA approved medical accessory for the Apple Watch. The FDA has cleared a band for the Apple Watch that records an ECG. According to AliveCor, the Kardia Band is the first medical device accessory cleared by the FDA for the Apple Watch. The Kardia Band is activated with a…

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Instagram for Heart Attacks: iPhone App Speeds ECG Transmission To Hospital

In the crucial early stages of a possible heart attack, EMTs on the scene now rely on slow and unreliable proprietary technology to transmit vital ECG data to physicians at a hospital for evaluation. But a new iPhone app using standard cell phone networks may help speed the process and, ultimately,  cut delays in treatment…

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What’s Next for the iPhone ECG Following Regulatory Clearance?

from Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry: What’s Next for the iPhone ECG Following Regulatory Clearance?  The user base and functionality of mobile ECG technology is set to expand. “After recently winning FDA clearance and CE Mark certification, the iPhone ECG from AliveCor (San Francisco, CA), is poised to kickstart a disruption of the traditional ECG…

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Unrecognized MI: More Prevalent And Dangerous Than Previously Suspected

Unrecognized myocardial infarction (UMI) is more prevalent, and is associated with a worse prognosis, than may be generally understood, according to a new study published in JAMA. Studying an elderly (67-93 years of age) population in Iceland, Erik Schelbert and colleagues used ECG and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to detect UMI. CMR was more effective than…

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USPSTF Maintains Recommendation Against ECG Screening Of Asymptomatic Low-Risk Adults

The  US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has reaffirmed its 2004 recommendation against ECG screening for asymptomatic adults who are already at low risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). The Task Force also concluded that there was insufficient evidence to assess the risks and benefits of ECG screening in asymptomatic people at intermediate- or high-risk for…

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