Kardia

Kardia 6L

AliveCor’s KardiaMobile 6L—the world’s only six lead personal ECG—is now allowed for use in the measurement of a patient’s QTc and detection of potentially dangerous QT prolongation.  A prolonged QTc can lead to a potentially fatal side effect, which is associated with the use of several medicines now being used in the treatment of COVID-19.

Patients with a prolonged QTc are at greater risk for their hearts to go into a potentially dangerous arrhythmia called Torsades de Pointes which can lead to sudden cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death. With the global pandemic of COVID-19 upon us, several drugs being used off-label to treat COVID-19 include hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, have the potential for unwanted QT prolongation.

Priya Abani, AliveCor CEO, says: “At AliveCor, we are committed to providing life-saving cardiological services to those who need them most. The benefits of remote, personal ECG measurement have never been clearer. We are thankful to the FDA for issuing timely guidance to help expand the availability of our device to assist in the treatment of COVID-19 during this global health emergency.”

Michael J Ackerman (Windland Smith Rice Genetic Heart Rhythm Clinic and Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory, Rochester, USA) says: “AliveCor’s KardiaMobile 6L technology can play a key role in obtaining the patient’s QTc as a vital sign to help guide the rapid and safe use of these drugs. In addition, the patient’s QTc can be obtained without exposing ECG technicians to affected patients which helps to conserve personal protection equipment (PPE) and thereby expand the capacity of our strained medical resources.  We are encouraged by the progress being made by regulatory authorities in allowing us to rapidly respond to the COVID crisis.”