First in Texas to Use New Smartphone Compatible, Insertable Cardiac Monitor
Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David’s Medical Center First in Texas to Use New Smartphone Compatible, Insertable Cardiac Monitor. The New Confirm RX™ Insertable Cardiac Monitor Allows Physicians to Monitor Patients Remotely
AUSTIN, Texas—On Nov. 14, 2017, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute (TCAI) at St. David’s Medical Center became the first hospital in Texas—and among the first in the nation—to use the new smartphone compatible Confirm Rx™ Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM), the world's first and only smartphone compatible ICM designed to help physicians identify even the most difficult-to-detect cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation (A Fib)—as well as monitor cardiac arrhythmias—remotely.
The Confirm Rx ICM is designed to continuously monitor a patient's heart rhythm and proactively transmit information via Bluetooth wireless technology to a mobile app, allowing physicians to track their patients remotely and accurately diagnose arrhythmias that may require further treatment.
“What differentiates the Confirm Rx ICM from other implantable monitors is that it doesn’t require a home base station to transmit information,” Robert Canby, M.D., a cardiac electrophysiologist at TCAI, said. “Instead, it utilizes a secure Bluetooth wireless connection to transmit that data to the patient’s smartphone or tablet. This allows the data to then be immediately sent to a monitoring station, rather than waiting until the patient returns home to connect to a base station.”
The Confirm RX ICM is implanted just under the skin in the chest during a quick, minimally-invasive outpatient procedure. Once implanted, it continuously monitors heart rhythms to detect a range of cardiac arrhythmias, including irregular heartbeats, such as A Fib.
An arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm that develops when disease or injury disrupts the heart's electrical signals, causing the heart to beat erratically. As the heart begins to beat too fast or too slow, changes in blood flow can expose patients to symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath or fainting. Left untreated, A Fib can lead to stroke.
While the Confirm Rx ICM continuously monitors for abnormal heart rhythms and transmits data to a patient’s physician, the compatible app also allows patients to track symptoms proactively, sync their data with their clinic at any time and view their transmission history without having to contact their clinic to confirm successful data transfers.
Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute
Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute (TCAI) at St. David’s Medical Center is one of the world’s preeminent centers dedicated to the latest treatment advances for correcting abnormal heart rhythms such as Atrial Fibrillation (A Fib). The center is led by Executive Medical Director Andrea Natale, M.D., a world-renowned expert in the field. Natale is at the forefront of advancing treatment for A Fib, leading numerous clinical trials and participating in the development of new technologies and procedures. TCAI is part of St. David’s HealthCare, one of the largest health systems in Texas, which was recognized with a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2014.
St. David’s Medical Center
St. David’s Medical Center is part of St. David’s HealthCare, one of the largest health systems in Texas, which was recognized in 2014 with a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Founded in 1924, St. David’s Medical Center is a full-service medical center offering comprehensive medical care at three locations—St. David’s Medical Center, Heart Hospital of Austin and St. David’s Georgetown Hospital.
Located in central Austin, St. David’s Medical Center includes a 350-bed acute care hospital and a 64-bed rehabilitation hospital providing comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care. It is home to the internationally renowned Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute and St. David’s Neuroscience & Spine Institute. The hospital provides a complete range of women’s services, including its acclaimed maternity unit, maternal-fetal medicine, a high-risk maternal and neonatal transport team, the region’s largest and most sophisticated Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and The Breast Center; complex surgical services; a comprehensive Bariatric Surgery Center; and a 24-hour emergency department.
St. David’s Medical Center was recently ranked among the top hospitals in the nation by earning a five-star rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s (CMS) new Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating system, and it was named among the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals by Truven Health Analytics from 2010 to 2017. Truven also named St. David’s Medical Center to the list of 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals in 2013, 2015 and 2016. The hospital earned a national distinction for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group from 2012 to 2017, and it received the 2017 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence from Healthgrades for the sixth consecutive year, as well as Healthgrades’ 2017 America’s 100 Best Hospitals Award™ for the third consecutive year.