iLife Saver

A couple of hours ago this was a rather ordinary iPod Touch.  A redundant iPod Touch as it happens, passed on to me by Chris.  Now it has been transformed into a life saver.

On the back is a sensor.  Inside is a very special App.  Together they allow me to display an ECG of what my heart is up to.  There’s more; I can annotate these ECGs - both by speech and text and save them.  Not only that - I can email them to my GP or cardiologist or anyone else who wants to take a look.  Now - isn’t that amazing?

I need to do this because the Gods of Arrhythmia have returned.  Not in full, ear-splitting, stadium rock mode - more like they’ve decided to do an acoustic set.  As all heavy metal bands eventually do.

I’ve had a couple of weeks of bliss.  Anniemay has been telling her friends that she has a new man in her life.  Freedom from drugs has meant more energy and spontaneous outbursts of activity and adventure.  Then last week a few ectopics, gradually becoming more frequent and severe, lasting hours rather than minutes.  She’s got her old man back.

Oxford wants to see what's going on and so when this happens I am supposed to trot to A&E or my GP’s surgery and get an ECG.  But it’s not always convenient - I had a bad one in the middle of the night, last night.  I need to be able to record the arrhythmia as it happens, not hours later.  

I came across this App on the BBC Health website last week.  It was developed by someone whose father had suddenly died from a heart attack. Early warning might have prevented it.  The App and sensor has now been approved by NICE (National Institute for Care and Health Excellence) and is seen as a major contribution to detecting the early stages of heart attacks and other heart conditions.  The NHS is even hoping to provide this technology free of charge next year to those most at risk.

I bought mine from the manufacturer (£99 and a bargain in my view) and it arrived this afternoon.  I stuck the sensor on the back of the iPod, downloaded the App and followed the simple instructions.  We watched in amazement as it actually worked - a lovely normal ECG which I have now saved as PDF.  

Of course, I’m only going to get my money’s worth if I have more arrhythmias.  But a small price to pay for instant diagnosis.