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Can an app change the way Nova Scotians live with A Fib?

Posted by Global News: Julia Wong on October 22, 2015 in Research, News

Original and full story on Global News.

A large-scale study of a common heart condition called atrial fibrillation will soon be underway in Nova Scotia.

Atrial fibrillation, also known as A Fib, is an electrical issue of the heart, according to cardiologist Dr. Jafna Cox, who is also a co-investigator of the study.

“The heart in the upper chambers beats very quickly and irregularly,” he said.

“That compromises the ability of the heart to pump properly.”

Cox said symptoms of A Fib include rapid heartbeats, feeling light-headed and passing out. He estimates approximately 20,000 Nova Scotians are afflicted by the condition.

Cox and fellow researchers at Integrated Management Program Advancing Community Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation, IMPACT-AF, are currently seeking 4,000 A Fib patients to be part of a research study.

Half of the participants will use an app or web-based tool to input and monitor their vital conditions, such as heart rate and blood pressure, as well as keep track of their lab tests and bloodwork. The other half will continue their treatments as normal.

“As the patient changes their weight, as the patient’s blood pressure is being recorded, as the patient’s heart rate is being assessed and recorded…what the computer does is it takes all of those bits of information and begins to take a look at how the patient is doing and then begins to inform the physician if there is anything that needs to be done,” he said.

The number of A Fib patients is expected to rise in the coming years as the population ages, and Cox said it is important to use technology to help physicians manage their patients and for patients to manage themselves better.

“[If] their kidney function has suddenly [worsened] or their blood is not being thinned enough, this will alert on the screen that the physician has available to them. It will be an icon they can click on, they will see their A Fib patients, they’ll see which ones have red alerts,” Cox said.

Chronic disease management is often treated at the specialist level, said Raza Abidi, health infomatics researcher for the project.

He said the app allows specialist care to be brought to the primary care level.

The researchers said the hope is the app will reduce hospitalizations since it will be proactive rather than reactive to how a patient is doing.

“It is doing an analysis of the patient data, monitoring the patient all the time and then responding in advance so the event can be avoided even before it actually takes place,” Abidi said.

Read the full story and watch the video on Global News.

Read "A Fib researchers seek 4,200 particpants for web-tool study" in The Chronicle Herald.

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