Mobile app for pacemaker patients trims need for monitors

Medtronic is marketing a mobile app for patients with pacemakers that communicates with patients’ smartphones and tablet devices.

The MyCareLink Heart app securely sends device data to the Medtronic CareLink network, which can eliminate the need for remote monitoring hardware, according to the vendor, which manufactures biomedical engineering devices and technology.

“The mobile app is a game-changer for patients with pacemakers,” says James Allred, MD, an electrophysiologist at Cone Health Medical Group in Greensboro, N.C. “The introduction of convenient and secure data transmissions and easy access to information changes how patients track and understand their health.”



Data collected by Medtronic pacemakers is encrypted and sent to the CareLink network via the mobile app to alert physicians about relevant patient events.

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The app also enables patients to see transmissions sent to physicians and track weight, blood pressure and heart rate to treat measures over time and help patients understand their health status.

A symptom journal also enables patients to track information they want to share with physicians.

“For the first time, pacemakers have the ability to communicate securely and directly with technology that patients use every day,” says Aisha Barry, vice president and general manager of the connectivity and insights unit at Medtronic. “This brings the benefits of remote monitoring seamlessly into patients’ lives, leading to enhanced and more efficient engagement with their physicians.”