Smartphone app saves lives

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- From maps, to games, to tracking how many steps you take, there are apps for just about everything. But now, apps on your smartphone are actually saving lives.

Connor Jasper loves trains, cookies, basketball, just about anything a typical little 4-year-old boy likes. However, he is anything but typical. Connor suffers from a heart condition that has put him in an ambulance four times.

Connor's mother, Kristy Jasper told ABC30, "I am very scared about it all the time, every few weeks I tell myself it's going to happen any day because it seems to happen once a month."

Connor's condition, known as Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, has no warning signs. His heart rate can skyrocket causing fatigue and dizziness, even death.

Kristy Jasper told ABC30, "He'll just be doing anything, playing, he could be sleeping and his heart rate will just jump."

Alisa Niksch, MD, Pediatric Cardiologist at Tufts University Medical Center, told ABC30, "It's particularly challenging in small children who can't always communicate what symptoms they are having."

But now his smartphone can monitor his heart 24-7. Connor takes this heart monitor with him anywhere. Electropads are put on his chest and can record, display and store his heart rhythms.

The results can be sent to his doctor immediately.

Kristy Jasper told ABC30, "I was able to call the doctor because she gets the feed from my phone instantly."

That quick response saved Connor another trip to the ER.

The AliveCor heart monitor is available to patients without the need for a prescription. The app is free, and the heart monitor costs about $200.

For more information, contact:

Rebecca Phillips
Senior Manager, Public Relations and Corporate Communications
(415) 795-9807
Rebecca@alivecor.com