Remote Heart Monitoring Provides Essential Support for Heart Patients

• Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi physicians deploy advanced technology to monitor progress of patients around-the-clock

Cardiac patients continued to receive support even when they were confined to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the remote heart monitoring program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, an integral part of Mubadala Health. 

For Diana Barreto, the advanced technology provides peace of mind even during stressful periods.  The 52-year-old Abu Dhabi resident was first diagnosed with multiple heart conditions ten years ago, when she fainted at a party in the United States. After two open heart surgeries, first to repair and then to replace the mitral valve, she was fitted with a pacemaker for atrial fibrillation – an irregular heartbeat – with occasional symptomatic slow heart rate. The condition meant she could never pursue her passion for salsa dancing as a profession and made her worry she would never dance again. 

“Dancing has always been part of my life and my childhood dream was to be in the performing arts. It was frustrating not to be able to follow my passion because of my heart issues,” she said.

Until last year, Diana was fearful of the impact of any strenuous activity on her arrhythmia. But now that she is one of the 700 patients at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi whose heart is being remotely monitored by the hospital’s Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute, those concerns have lessened.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi established its remote heart monitoring program in August 2015. Patients are implanted with a small device under their skin and benefit from round the clock monitoring by their care team. The device transmits abnormal findings, enabling the medical team to diagnose and monitor the patient’s response to therapy remotely. Last year, the hospital added 250 additional patients to the program.

During the peak of the pandemic, Diana had an ‘episode’ of abnormal heart rhythms and she immediately received a call from the medical team at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

“It was a bit surprising at first because they knew exactly how I was feeling and asked me a series of questions before deciding that I needed to alter my medication dose and reduce my activity levels,” she said. 

Dr. Khalid Bakr, an Associate Staff Physician in the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi said this has been a very beneficial tool for their patients during the pandemic. “Vulnerable patients can be assisted in the comfort of their home through the remote monitoring program. We’ve been able to monitor and assist a lot of our patients who may not have needed hospitalization but just medical advice remotely during the movement restrictions last year.”

Dr. Bakr said that such technology allows doctors to detect heart problems early on by analyzing data in real time, looking at long-term and short-term trends. In extreme cases, the team can also alert emergency services and potentially save a patient’s life. 

Diana concluded that being on the program allows her to be more carefree. “I feel so safe and confident that my doctors at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi are closely monitoring my heartbeat and if something goes wrong, they will catch it right away.”

 For more information or to book an appointment at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, call 800 222 33, visit www.clevelandclinicabudhabi.ae or download the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi app.