Cardiac patients continued to receive support even when they were confined to their homes, thanks to the remote heart monitoring programme at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, an integral part of Mubadala Health.
The Clinic established its remote heart monitoring programme 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 programme.
Dr. Khalid Bakr, an Associate Staff Physician in the Heart and Vascular 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 programme. 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.
