Why should NW London use fingertip tech?

Kardia Mobile Device irregularOmar Butt and Priya Ramanh, Innovation Advisors part of our Atrial Fibrillation Team,  update us on their work to roll out Alivecor Kardia mobile ECG devices across North West (NW) London to detect the most common irregular heart rhythm and prevent strokes:

Did you know that we have technology, literally at our finger tips, available in NW London with the potential to save thousands of lives?

More than 17,000 people across NW London have undiagnosed irregular heart rhythm, which can cause a stroke if not detected and treated appropriately, usually through blood-thinning medication to prevent clots that lead to stroke.

Alivecor Kardia mobile ECG devices can detect a patient’s irregular heart rhythm quickly and easily through a patient placing their figures on a pad and connecting it to a phone app. In just 30 seconds patient’s with irregular heart rhythms can be detected and their health care professional can refer them for a follow up helping to prevent hundreds of strokes per year.

In February this year here at ICHP we received nearly 300 Kardia devices through our partnership work with NHS England and local CCGs. Part of our role within the AF team has been supporting the spread and use of these devices across NW London.

Demand for training and devices

We’ve had overwhelming support and response from CCGs, GPs, Pharmacists and specialist nurses, all taking advantage of this innovation to potentially save lives.

Through working closely with CCGs we have tailored specific Kardia training, for example: sessions in Hammersmith & Fulham, where staff were invited to attend and to be given a Kardia device; to individual training visits seen in Hillingdon, where we visited practices to help set the devices up and deliver one-to-one training.

This training has been a fantastic opportunity to experience first hand the levels of enthusiasm for the whole AF programme of work. It has been a pleasure to meet and work with so many NHS colleagues to drive change through using this innovation. It has been a great insight into frontline challenges and how sharing best practice/ practical advice can help to support solutions. 

Register devices to maximise success

To build on this work we need everyone with a Kardia device to make sure they have registered them to ensure that the data can be shared for analysis with NHS England. Registration is quick, free and easy through the dedicated online portal.

We are proud of the work that we have achieved so far in NW London and are excited for many more exciting AF opportunities to come. In particular AF awareness week, 19-25 November, where millions of people will be campaigning for AF Detect/Protect/Protect and spreading the word. We would love to see as many CCGs and practices holding AF awareness activities through using their Kardia devices to carry out more and more numbers of screening.

For more information please do get in contact!
Omar Butt

Priya Ramanah