The alarm that tells if you Are Going To Have Heart Attack
A device implanted in the chest that can warn when someone is about to have a heart attack, is being trialled in the U.S.The matchbox-sized gadget vibrates gently when it detects changes in the heart's electrical patterns that signal a heart attack is about to strike.
It also sends a message to a pager carried by the patient, which beeps to make sure they are aware of the danger. The revolutionary implant, called the AngelMed Guardian, could alert patients several hours, or even days, before they fall ill, giving them time to seek emergency help and saving lives in the process.
It is undergoing trials in America, but has already been approved for use in some parts of the world, such as Brazil. It's hoped the device will reduce the death toll from heart disease.
Every year, around 270,000 people in Britain suffer a heart attack, and coronary disease remains Britain's biggest killer. About a third of sufferers die before reaching hospital, often because they have delayed seeking help (having ignored the warning signs, such as pain in the chest, shoulders, back or jaw, or because they did not realise such symptoms can be linked with heart problems).
Research carried out by the British Heart Foundation shows 42 per cent of people who experienced pain or discomfort in their chest, arms or shoulders preferred to wait and see how it developed before calling an ambulance. The AngelMed Guardian could be used to help those most at risk, such as patients who have already suffered a heart attack and are, therefore, in greater danger of another.
It resembles the pacemakers already used to control the heart rate in patients with irregular rhythms. A tiny box is implanted on the left side of the chest underneath the collar bone. A wire runs from the box to the right ventricle, one of the two major pumping chambers in the heart. On the end of the wire is an electrode, which is surgically attached to heart muscle.
0 comments:
Post a Comment