(Seattle, WA – November 17, 2020) – Chief Medical Officer of Bardy Diagnostics and Clinical Professor of Medicine University of Washington Professor Gust H. Bardy sat down with Trudie Lobban, MBE, Founder and CEO of Arrhythmia Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life for all those affected by arrhythmias, to discuss the intricacies of heart arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythm disorders) and the importance of early detection in a patient-facing educational video series. The videos, spanning topics including information about arrhythmias, the importance of regular heart monitoring, various devices in the market, and the treatment differences between using a pacemaker, an ICD, or an S-ICD, bring awareness of these often overlooked but potentially deadly heart conditions.
“We are delighted that Professor Bardy has partnered with us in this important educational video series, which will help increase awareness about arrhythmias, detection, and information about available treatments for people with arrhythmias,” said Lobban.
“I’ve treated arrhythmia patients since 1982. Sometimes arrhythmias are minor. Sometimes they are life-threatening. People over 50 are more likely to have serious arrhythmias, but it can happen in very young people too. It is wise to always pay attention to our hearts as heart problems are a major and common cause of disability and premature death. We commonly get annual blood tests to check for cholesterol levels or diabetes, but we also should have annual tests of our heart rhythms as well, especially in our older years,” said Professor Bardy.
Arrhythmias affect millions of Americans every year, and the most dangerous arrhythmia, ventricular tachycardia, can cause sudden cardiac death, affecting approximately a half million people annually in the United States[1]. Equally serious is the fact that over 2 million people have known atrial fibrillation[2] and many more have episodic asymptomatic atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation carries a significant risk of stroke whether the patient has symptoms or not.
Consequently, screening for atrial fibrillation with ambulatory monitors is critical to help avoid stroke and to reduce the associated stroke-related costs that burden the healthcare system. “That said, there are many disorders that appear to be Atrial Fibrillation but are, in fact, not atrial fibrillation even though they superficially appear to be. Medical grade monitors with a high specificity for differentiating these various atrial fibrillation-like disorders from true atrial fibrillation is critical. One should not rely upon commercial monitors in this case. Moreover, several other serious arrhythmias can coexist with atrial fibrillation. Discerning the difference between these various atrial arrhythmias requires a medical grade ECG monitor. Commercial devices often focus on an irregular rhythm and casually presume the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, unaware of the myriad arrhythmias that can masquerade as atrial fibrillation,” said Professor Bardy.
The problem of cardiac arrhythmias does not merely affect those in middle age or advanced age. There are an estimated 2 million people living with congenital structural heart disease (CHD) in the United States[3], many of whom are in their 20’s and 30’s. People with CHD often develop arrhythmias as young adults. Per Professor Bardy, such individuals, as well as those with known underlying heart disease should consider cardiac monitoring. Those over the age of 60 regardless of health status would probably benefit from a heart rhythm evaluation just as they do other periodic checks of their health, like blood pressure, cholesterol, mammography, glucose, etc. Lobban and Professor Bardy are working hard to bring public awareness and early detection to save lives and improve quality of lives due to irregular heart rhythm disorders. To learn more, visit https://www.bardydx.com/about-arrhythmias/ and https://www.heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/us/videos
About Gust H. Bardy, M.D.
Dr. Bardy has been a cardiac electrophysiologist since 1983 with research interests in cardiac defibrillator technology, cardiac arrest, ablation, heart failure and atrial fibrillation from both a public health and a technological perspective. He has been a researcher and clinician in the field of sudden death and disabling cardiac rhythm disorders for 38 years with over 400 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Bardy has also developed technological solutions to patient rhythm related problems with over 280 U.S. patents issued, all of which have been incorporated in cardiac rhythm management technologies in use by many medical device companies. Dr. Bardy’s previous company, Cameron Health, was successfully acquired by Boston Scientific in 2012 for its revolutionary Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator (S-ICD) product. In addition to serving Bardy Diagnostics, Dr. Bardy holds a faculty position as Clinical Professor of Medicine, Cardiology at the University of Washington.
About Arrhythmia Alliance
ARRHYTHMIA ALLIANCE – Working together to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life for all those affected by arrhythmias. Arrhythmia Alliance is a coalition of patients, caregivers, patient groups, healthcare professionals and organizations and allied professionals working together to improve the detection, diagnosis, and treatment for all those affected by cardiac arrhythmias. By raising awareness and campaigning for the improved detection and care of heart rhythm disorders, Arrhythmia Alliance aims to extend and improve the lives of the millions around the world that these conditions affect. For more information go to www.heartrhythmalliance.org
About Bardy Diagnostics:
Bardy Diagnostics, Inc. is an innovator in digital health and remote patient monitoring, with a focus on providing the most diagnostically accurate and patient-friendly cardiac patch monitors to the industry. The company’s CAM patch is a non-invasive, P-wave centric™ ambulatory cardiac monitor and arrhythmia detection device that is designed to improve patient compliance for adults and children through its lifestyle-enabling form factor. Designed to be worn comfortably and discreetly for up to 14 days, the female-friendly, hourglass-shaped CAM patch is placed on the center of the chest, directly over the heart for optimum ECG signal collection. The proprietary technology of the CAM patch provides optimal detection and clear recording of the often difficult-to-detect P-wave, the signal of the ECG waveform that is essential for accurate arrhythmia diagnosis. For more information, please visit www.bardydx.com.
[1] https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/about-heart-attacks/heart-attack-or-sudden-cardiac-arrest-how-are-they-different
[2] https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/atrial-fibrillation/what-is-atrial-fibrillation-afib-or-af