Those with heart-related health issues know the need for daily monitoring to ensure that they are in the best of health. This has made blood pressure monitors a necessity for any household, doubly so for those with heart conditions.
However, blood pressure monitors tell only one facet of heart health, with electrocardiograms (ECG) being another tool for monitoring. And while there maybe many home ECG machines, there are only a few that combine both heart monitoring and ECG in one device.
Medical equipment manufacturer Omron solves this with the Omron Complete, a portable single-lead ECG and blood pressure monitoring device. Designed for detection of atrial fibrillation (AFib) — the most frequently encountered arrhythmia in clinical practice — the Omron Complete incorporates clinically validated ECG technology that can be used simultaneously with the usual BP check, which could potentially decrease consultation time and unnecessary appointments, in a context of high demand for healthcare services.
“Complete is a groundbreaking tool for patients managing AFib and for those who suspect they may have an irregular heartbeat. Managing risk factors is essential for good heart health. By measuring more data points, we’re helping users and physicians gain a more complete health picture to evolve treatment and produce better health outcomes,” said Ranndy Kellogg, president and CEO of Omron Healthcare, Inc.
The medical device uses an automated interpretation feature that offers a good diagnostic yield with a high sensitivity of 96.6 percent and specificity of 94.1 percent in detecting AF.
This reduces the chances of false positives and false negatives when used.
The device can be used on its own as a blood pressure monitor but by downloading the Omron Connect app, it can be synced to the user’s smartphone and allows the user to use the and record both ECG and blood pressure data. To use the ECG feature, users need only to pair their smartphone with the device, and with the Omron Complete app open, hold the 2 metal leads located at the sides of the device during blood pressure monitoring. The results will then be displayed as a graph along with the initial machine interpretation. These can be shown to doctors during regular check ups as part of patient monitoring procedure.
Dr. Marlon Co shared that hypertension is associated with an almost two-fold increase in the risk of developing new-onset AFib, and is also associated with 1.5 times increased risk in the progression to permanent AFib. “Both hypertension and AF are prevalent, morbid, and deadly conditions.
Early treatment and intervention for both can significantly reduce adverse events, making early screening and detection crucial. Technologies like the Omron Complete, which allows for simultaneous measurements and recording of both blood pressure and ECG, could play a critical role in the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of these twin epidemics. If you detect early and treat early there will be less incidence of progression to permanent AFib. Furthermore, the early detection of AFib can reduce stroke by about 68 percent,” he said.
