Heart diseases are the leading cause of death among people over the age of
40. Although this fact alone can trigger a heart attack, it's certainly not a lost
battle. Modern medicine provides new effective detection tools and at the
same time people are becoming increasingly aware of the need to improve
their personal health.
Modern medicine can't prevent heart attacks, but it can certainly detect cardiac
abnormalities that lead to heart attacks. The sooner the cardiac abnormalities
are detected, the higher the chances to save the patient's life and
minimize risks.
The increasing need for a small and mobile device with a user friendly interface
has increased exponentially. All over the world, people over 40 are looking for
reliable and simple detection devices that can save their lives anytime,
anywhere, regardless of their lifestyle, activity or occupation. Adults and seniors
who are increasingly aware of their health, want to feel more secure and
confident with a tiny, affordable, 24/7 device that can detect heart attacks.
Today it's no longer a dream. Cardicell has developed and produced exactly
the device adults all over the world have been eagerly waiting for - the
Cardiscan. A small, mobile, easy to operate, affordable heart attack detector
that will save lives and minimize potential heart attack damages.
Detecting Cardiac Abnormalities
The need for accurate and efficient detection of cardiac abnormalities is evident.
Today there are several methods to detect heart abnormalities - the best known
method is the electrocardiogram (ECG). ECG is a graphical representation of the
electrical activity of the heart (caused by excitation of the heart muscle), as
detected on the body surface by electrodes.
The ECG is traditionally used to diagnose acute and chronic cardiac abnormalities
such as arrhythmias, myocardial ischemia, conduction disturbances, susceptibility
to sudden death and even life-threatening metabolic disturbances.
The clinical manifestations of cardiac abnormalities vary from chest pain and
dizziness to tingling and shortness of breath. The distinction between a cardiac
related trigger and a non-cardiac one (like infection, trauma, anxiety, etc.) is
made primarily, but not solely, by an ECG. The ECG test is extremely important
in determining the best medical treatment or required intervention.
Yet the existing ECG devices are far from being a practical solution because of
two major milestones:
• Located in the patient's home, they take a lot of space and are difficult to
operate
• They are very expensive, in terms of both direct and indirect expenses
As a result, only a small fraction of the population can take advantage of the
present detection devices. |
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Cardiac Abnormalities
The most frequent cardiac abnormality is ACS (acute coronary syndrome). ACS
comprises a spectrum of conditions which reflect different levels of cardiac
ischemia, ranging from a reversible and partial coronary occlusion (called stable
angina pectoris), to a complete coronary occlusion (called myocardial infarction).
Unless treated within several hours, it can cause irreversible damage and
sometimes death.
In recent years, ischemic heart disease (IHD) has posed a major problem for
the aging population across the world. In the U.S. for instance, over 16 million
Americans suffer from ischemic heart disease each year (and numbers continue
to grow). Cerebro-vascular disease (CVD) accounted for 20.8% of all
deaths - the single largest killer!
About 42% of the people who experience a coronary attack in a given year will
eventually die from it, which means 11.5% of that part of the population will die
of IHD each year.
Life Timing – Between Detection & Treatment
There is a clear direct correlation between the time that takes to detect and
treat a heart attack and the damage caused to the heart's muscle (diagram 2).
In general, after 6-12 hours from the onset of a heart attack (full obstruction
of the heart's blood vessels), the damage to the heart will be irreversible.
The time that takes to identify a heart attack is affected by the following
procedures: a) Evaluation and diagnosis procedures (the patient goes to the 2009-01-04
doctor and is examined through ECG and blood tests); b) Treatment procedure (coronary catheterization or medicine treatment to melt a blood clot).
According to the European Heart Journal, the time frames for treating heart
attacks are: Pain (symptoms of heart attack) to door
(medical consultation/ER) - 60 minutes and door to needle treatment -
30 minutes. In reality, time values are sadly much different: Pain to door
time is between 2-6.5 hours and door to needle time is between 30-45
minutes.
Diagram 1: Chain of events from symptoms to intervention
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