Prairie Cardiovascular Announces Partnership w/AliveCor

Prairie Cardiovascular announced a two-phased partnership with AliveCor, manufacturer of Kardia Mobile. Kardia Mobile is an FDA-cleared personal EKG device. It’s smaller than a credit card and allows users to take a medical grade single-lead EKG in 30 seconds.

"Our first phase in the partnership was to provide all of our physicians and advance practice providers with a device," said Dr. Marc Shelton, past governor of the ACC and President of Prairie Cardiovascular. "We are often called upon to assist with medical emergencies outside of the walls of the hospital. This technology will be a great resource in these instances," said Shelton. "I was on an airplane recently and asked to assist with a passenger and having access to this type of device would have been helpful."

The second phase of the partnership included the deployment of AliveCor’s Kardia Pro, an industry-first artificial intelligence-enabled platform for doctors to monitor patients for the early detection of atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia that leads to a five times greater risk of stroke. Prairie's exclusive Kardia Pro software platform automatically receives the patient’s Kardia Mobile EKG readings, along with home blood pressure readings, activity levels, and weight changes taken with other devices compatible with Android and Apple smartphones. For the first time, artificial intelligence creates a personal heart profile for each user by training the app to recognize whether the primary user or a guest is taking the EKG recording. In the future, this heart profile may be used to notify doctors of changes to a patient's heart rhythm in real time, making it easier than ever for doctors to detect changes early and practice preventative medicine.

"This technology can help us with stroke prevention through earlier detection of atrial fibrillation," said Dr. Subhashish Agarwal, cardiologist at the Prairie Heart Institute at HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital. "Prairie's use of Kardia Pro helps us to take a forward-looking approach to patient care."

According to Dr. Dave Albert, AliveCor Founder and Chief Medical Officer, "Heart disease and stroke are on the rise and the stakes for improving heart health are at an all-time high. Working with Prairie Cardiovascular, we look forward to supporting future developments in heart health.