Heart care from home

Heart patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are being helped to continue their care from home, thanks to an innovative new device. Kevin McGibbon, Arrhythmia Clinical Nurse Specialist at UHNM, (pictured), recently secured £5000 to issue patients with mobile-based Kardia ECG devices and medical blood pressure machines. The technology allows patients to perform essential self-checks at home, ensuring they can stay on top of their condition without the anxiety of a hospital visit.

Kevin said: “Atrial fibrillation can increase the chance of blood clots and cause strokes so it is absolutely essential that we keep a good check on patients with the condition. In normal times patients would come in for regular monitoring appointments but we want to reduce this as far as possible during the pandemic. Of course, we wanted patients to be able to have access to the same services so we used the money to buy this kit. We began issuing the devices in October and so far 36 patients are using them.

“The beauty of these devices is that all the same things can happen at home but patients don’t even have to leave the house. If people have any concerns we are only a phone call away and they can still have access to the same services they would normally have.”

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm problem in the world and becomes increasingly common with age. It affects around 10% of over 65s, 15% of over 75s and 25% of over 85s. The condition causes the heart to have an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate and can cause problems including dizziness, shortness of breath and tiredness.