- Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Adopts Cutting-Edge System as Part of Push for Better Long-Term Care for Heart Patients
Doctors in Abu Dhabi have become the first in the UAE to start using a new online IT system to help detect heart problems early on and potentially save heart patients’ lives. The system collects data from pacemakers and other implantable cardiac devices from anywhere in the UAE and sends alerts to doctors when it detects that patients could be having serious heart rhythm disturbances.
The initiative means that cardiologists supporting the hospital’s remote heart monitoring program will be able to receive data from patients’ pacemakers, defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization devices and ECG recorders in a more efficient, effective and immediate manner. This data can be aggregated to track patterns over time and accessed by doctors using their mobile devices.
“This new system means that doctors are now able to analyze data from each of our remote heart monitoring patients in real time, looking at long-term and short-term trends at the touch of a button,” says Dr. Khalid Al Muti, the Head of Cardiac Electrophysiology in Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute
According to Dr. Al Muti, the new system will make it easier for doctors to alert patients if they discover signs of new irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), an accumulation of fluid in the heart chambers or if a device is likely to run out of batteries.
Data from the devices is transmitted directly to the patient’s electronic medical records, eliminating typing errors.
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi launched the UAE’s first remote heart monitoring program in August 2015 to provide patients with heart problems with real-time monitoring. Since then, the number of patients enrolled in the program has grown to more than 300.
“Our remote heart monitoring program means that patients can go about their everyday lives with a minimum of disruption, but we can react instantly if needed and detect problems between check-ups,” says Dr. Al Muti. “This new system is making it easier for our technicians to track each patient’s data, contributing greatly to patient safety.”
The benefits of remote heart monitoring include lowering mortality and morbidity, minimizing check-ups and hospitalizations for patients, boosting patient outcomes, and improving patients’ lifestyles.
Heart disease is the biggest killer in Abu Dhabi accounting for over 30 percent of all deaths in the emirate, according to Department of Health statistics. Doctors say that high levels of smoking, obesity, diabetes and congenital heart conditions in the country are the biggest threats to heart health.
To find out more about Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Remote Heart Monitoring Program or to arrange an appointment, contact Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi at 800 8 CCAD (800 8 2223) or visit www.clevelandclinicabudhabi.ae.