Texas Hospital Using mHealth Wearables to Monitor Cardiac Patients at Home

A Texas hospital is launching a telehealth program that will use mHealth wearables to improve care management for patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

The Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute (TCAI) at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin has recruited 40 patients for the pilot remote patient monitoring program, which is testing how wearables can help care providers identify and create home-based care management programs for patients.

Called the RFMx program, it connects patients to wearable cardiac monitors that track heart rhythm in real time and relay the data back to the hospital through an mHealth app and platform. Doctors hope to use that data to identify patients in need of a cardiac ablation, as well to help them convince patients to alter lifestyle habits, such as diet and exercise, to reduce the risk of further cardiac events.

The program is one of many being launched around the country to take advantage of remote patient monitoring platforms that allow health systems to monitor and care for patients at home, particularly as the nation deals with an ongoing coronavirus pandemic that calls for reduced in-person treatment.

In addition, it highlights the growing interest in mHealth wearables that include cardiac tracking, especially those looking to identify AFib before it cause a serious health emergency. Along with clinical devices that are being developed for prescribed home use, consumer-facing vendors like Apple and Fitbit are creating their own products.

"Digital monitoring allows us to better serve our patients by helping them follow prescribed plans, such as diet and exercise, to improve quality of life," Andrea Natale, MD, FHRS, FACC, FESC, a cardiac electrophysiologist and TCAI’s executive medical director, said in a press release. "Physicians can also receive alerts if patients experience abnormal heart rhythms, such as AFib."

"Every participant is different, and the challenges they face are unique," she added. "For example, patients who are overweight are placed in nutrition and exercise programs, and their goal is to achieve at least a 10 percent decrease in body mass index. Digital health platforms can measure these changes."

The RPM project comes at the same time as the publication of a German study in the New England Journal of Medicine showing the benefits of early intervention.

Called the Early Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation for Stroke Prevention (EAST) trial and presented at the recent European Heart Meeting, the study found that early intervention therapy – which can be based on or augmented by connected health tools and platforms – “was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular outcomes than usual care among patients with early atrial fibrillation and cardiovascular conditions.”