Heart attacks occur each and every day, and if treatment isn’t sought quickly enough, fatal results can occur. Many people don’t recognize the symptoms of a heart attack until it’s already too late. Luckily, Angel Medical has developed a new implant, known as the Guardian System, to warn patients that they are experiencing symptoms of a heart attack before the patient is even aware. This provides an alert for patients to get to the hospital immediately, providing valuable life saving time.
AngelMed Guardian System
The AngelMed Guardian System consists of an implantable device placed in the chest that detects, analyzes and records heart signal data. When cardiac events occur, the implant device gently vibrates, alerting the patient to seek medical treatment. The implant is connected to a portable external paging device, which provides the patient with an auditory and visual alert. The external device has long range transmission capabilities and a silence button to control alerts. The third component of the AngelMed Guardian System is a programmer used by the patient’s physician. The programmer is used to program and receive data from both the implant and the external paging device.
“The Guardian uses a pacemaker lead that goes into the heart, but instead of using the wire to pace the heart, it monitors tissues in the heart, sensing changes in those tissues that suggest an impending heart attack,” says Banner Baywood Heart Hospital’s cardiologist Andrew Kaplan. “When changes in the tissues are apparent, this device has the ability to set off an alarm. This tells you something is going on with your body and will prompt you to go to the ER.”
Clinical Studies
It’s estimated, 1 million Americans suffer from a heart attack each year, and sadly, only half of these people survive. It’s hoped this new device can actually raise the survival rate for heart attack sufferers. Currently, AngelMed is holding clinical studies at 50 sites across the Nation, which consists of about 1,000 patients. As of now, Brazil is the only country where the AngelMed Guardian System is available commercially, but with the results of these clinical studies, it’s hoped this life saving device will be used wide-spread throughout the United States.
“The AngelMed device will look at signs of inflammation or signs that suggest the heart rhythm is becoming abnormal, so these are very similar technologies,” says Richard Heuser, chief of cardiology at St. Luke’s Medical Center. Heuser goes on to say “Instead of waiting for a person to have an event, we can be prescient and forecast the event. This is interesting and very useful technology.”
To learn more about the AngelMed Guardian System visit “AngelMed.com”
References:
“Banner to Test Heart-attack Warning System” AZCentral.com
“The Guardian System” AngelMed.com
“New Technology Helps Detect Pending Heart Attacks” ACB News
