A healthy heart is not hard to come by in this day and age. Several decades ago if your heart was weak, you were in serious trouble. In the 21st century, almost every heart condition can be dealt with safely and in a relatively short time span, thanks to the latest technology in medicine. Though surgery is still necessary in many cases, it is not the only route to a healthier heart.
English: An artificial pacemaker from St. Jude Medical, with electrode.(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A combination of high-tech solutions can aid you and your doctors in managing your heart condition with minimized risks and increased convenience. You can even maintain your heart from the comfort of your own home with the portable solutions available today. Lengthy hospital stays and around-the-clock care are no longer as imperative as they used to be. Read on to learn about some of these innovative tools that can help you maintain a healthy heart.
Panasonic Cardio Health Station
Panasonic is best known for manufacturing high-tech entertainment gadgets such as TV’s and computers. However, now the company has branched out into the health industry with this preventive monitoring and scanning solution for physical practitioners to test their patients’ hearts. Using the Cardio Health Station a doctor can use the built-in ultra-sound system to conduct a noninvasive scan of your carotid arteries, searching them for any arterial plaques. The Cardio Health Station detects the measurement of the Intima-Media thickness as well, making the first of its kind to be as advanced.
Zymed Holter Software
This tool aids in scanning the rhythm of your heartbeat to detect any abnormalities. The latest technology in Arrhythmia Analysis, Zymed Holter software makes sense of even the most complex heart arrhythmias. Its ease of use coupled with its accuracy and speed is unparalleled by any other such technology. It uses a comprehensive algorithm combined with 12-lead ECG information from 5 electrodes, making it the most accurate Holter ECG monitoring solution on the market. Not only that, but it’s also a snap to download and analyze the information–which can be just as important in making informed treatment decisions.
Artificial Cardiac Pacemaker
An artificial cardiac pacemaker is used to regulate the heartbeat of a less-than-healthy heart. Perhaps you’ve seen someone with one of them before since this is one of the most common tools medicine has to offer in conquering heart conditions. Pacemakers are installed in patients whose heart’s native pacemaker cannot maintain an adequate heart rate or if a block in the heart’s electrical conduction system prevents it from maintaining a regular rhythm. Pacemakers can be installed on a temporary or permanent basis and depending on the patient’s condition, he or she can live a relatively normal lifestyle outside of a medical environment. Temporary pacemakers are worn while permanent pacemakers are implanted into the patient. The pacemaker regulates the heart rate of a patient via electrodes that contact the heart muscles to determine the heart rate.
Defibrillator
It is not hard to confuse an Implantable Cardioverter/Defibrillator with a Pacemaker if you are not a medical professional. However Defibrillators are used in more extreme cases such as when a patient is in immediate danger of full cardiac arrest. Only a few decades ago, if you had to contend with such serious heart failure, there were very few life-saving options. Now, this battery-powered electrical pulse generator could prevent such heart failure from happening in the first place. It has the ability to detect sudden Arrythmia and send an electrical jolt to the heart to prevent it from shutting down altogether. As a patient, you could lead a fairly regular lifestyle outside of a hospital with the aid of a defibrillator.
These are just a few of the most common approaches and solutions to heart treatment and detection of cardiovascular conditions. While these are probably the most common devices used in the industry, there are countless others used by doctors and patients everyday to combat heart diseases and promote long term well-being. Having to live with a heart condition is not the end of the world, despite what many in such situations might think. As technology advances, so will all of these devices, ensuring that people with heart problems have an increased chance at living a normal life.
Categories: Health | Tags: cardioverter, defibrillator, heart, heart health, pacemakers, technology, Zymed Holter software | Permalink