App can tell if you have a serious heart attack

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A study has shown that a new mobile phone application is almost as effective at detecting heart attacks that pose a death threat as a standard electrocardiogram (ECG).

The study, conducted by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, tested the accuracy of AliveCor's functionality, an application designed to determine if an individual was suffering from myocardial infarction with elevated blood pressure. ST (STEMI), a heart attack caused by a completely blocked artery. Unlike a traditional ECG, the application requires only a two-wire connection, as opposed to 12 leads placed on the body to record the electrical activity of the heart.

Tested on 204 patients with chest pain, the application yielded significant results, according to Dr. J. Brent Muhlestein, lead investigator of the study.

"We discovered that the application allowed us to diagnose heart attacks very effectively – and did not indicate the presence of a heart attack while it was not occurring," said Dr. Muhlestein.

By allowing individuals to quickly determine the presence of a heart attack, Muhlestein says that the application can increase the chances of survival of a STEMI.

"The sooner the artery is opened, the more the patient will be better," added Dr. Muhlestein. "We found that this application could dramatically speed things up and save your life."

The app will also be able to upload your results to the cloud for review by a cardiologist, who will thus be able to tell a person who is living a STEMI to seek immediate medical help.

"If a person has a chest pain and has never suffered before, she might think it's just a virus or gas and she will not go to the emergency room." said Dr. Muhlestein. "It's dangerous, because the faster the opening of the blocked artery, the better the results for the patient."

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The results of the study were recently presented at the 2018 scientific session of the American Heart Association in Chicago. Intermountain Healthcare also notes that given the low cost of such applications, ECG technology can now be put "in the hands of anyone with a smartphone or smartwatch," which makes it "accessible in places like third world countries".