Tom Cooney, 70, is always on the go.
"Yeah I do a lot of traveling. Thousands of miles sometimes a week." Cooney told Ivanhoe.
Even when he was diagnosed with Afib, a condition where patients have an irregular heartbeat, he didn't want to let that slow him down. So when his doctor showed him a device that combines a smartphone case wired with electrodes, and an app that can let Cooney monitor his own heart rhythm, he was in.
"You know when you go like this on your hand and you feel it going fast, that's all you get, right, but when you see what's going on with your, with your heart and the rhythm then you get a better idea of where you're at," Cooney explained.
Cooney was one of the first patients in a Cleveland Clinic trial testing the new device. Doctors found the new smartphone monitor was just as accurate as traditional monitors and was easier to use.
"Patients loved it and they found it fun to use. You get them engaged so now they're not just a passive component," Khaldoun Tarakji, MD, Electrophysiologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio told Ivanhoe. (Read Full Interview)
For Cooney, it is making it more convenient when it comes to managing his healthcare.
Cooney continued, "I could tell if there's something different with my heart than normally when I'm looking at this, so yeah it makes a difference, it gives me a sense of confidence as to where I am and what I should do."
And keeping Cooney's health on par with his traveling schedule.
The device is also allowing patients to do virtual doctor visits, cutting down on traveling time when a physical exam is not necessary.