Veröffentlicht am 3. September 2024, 07:54 / ©Pressefoto/MedUni Graz
The “Austrian Digital Heart Program” aims to revolutionize the early detection and treatment of atrial fibrillation through the use of new digital technologies such as smartwatches and smartphones.
The “Austrian Digital Heart Program” aims to revolutionize the early detection and treatment of atrial fibrillation through the use of new digital technologies such as smartwatches and smartphones.
As part of the “Austrian Digital Heart Program”, scientists at the Medical University of Graz are investigating a digital screening tool to optimize the early detection and treatment of atrial fibrillation.
by Anja Mandler
2 minutes reading time(433 words)
Normally, the heart beats in a regular rhythm controlled by electrical signals in the heart. In atrial fibrillation, these signals are disrupted, causing the atria to beat quickly and irregularly. This results in blood not being pumped effectively through the heart. “Atrial fibrillation often goes unnoticed because it often causes no symptoms, but it can increase the risk of serious health problems such as strokes and heart failure. This is because an irregular heartbeat can cause blood to collect in the atria and clot. These blood clots are in turn a possible trigger for a stroke,” explains cardiologist Martin Manninger-Wünscherpart of the Med Uni Graz Research Unit “Clinical and Translational Cardiac Arrhythmia Research” under the direction of Daniel Scherr. Therefore, both the early detection and treatment of atrial fibrillation are of great importance. This is where a new clinical research project comes in, which was initiated by the Medical Universities of Graz and Innsbruck and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT).
Digital cardiac medicine: improving atrial fibrillation treatment
The “Austrian Digital Heart Program” aims to revolutionize the early detection and treatment of atrial fibrillation through the use of new digital technologies such as smartwatches and smartphones. Supported by the Ludwig Boltzmann Society (LBG) with a total of around 8 million euros, the project will develop, implement and validate a comprehensive screening and intervention strategy over the next few years. By using intelligent devices in a large, Austria-wide randomized study, it will be investigated to what extent the burden of disease and mortality can be reduced through digital screening and preventive treatment measures.
Med Uni Graz optimizes digital screening tool
The Medical University of Graz will receive a budget of around 300,000 euros and will play a central role in optimizing the digital screening tool. Under the direction of Martin Manninger-Wünscher, the Med Uni Graz is conducting the pilot study to improve these technologies and is leading a key work package within the program. In order to develop a digital screening tool that can be used across Austria for an atrial fibrillation risk population as part of a purely digital study, patients will be trained on the app in a pilot study conducted in Graz and Innsbruck, accompanied during its installation, and will also use the tool at home for several weeks. One of the aims of this is to optimize user-friendliness before the screening tool can be used across Austria in 2026. “Of the 44 projects submitted, only three were selected. We are delighted to be a leader in the field of arrhythmia research as part of this large collaborative project,” says Daniel Scherr.
About the Austrian Digital Heart Program
The Austrian Digital Heart Program is a joint initiative of the Medical Universities of Innsbruck and Graz and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT). The aim of the program is to develop and implement new digital technologies for the early detection and treatment of atrial fibrillation in order to reduce the health burden and mortality caused by this common cardiac arrhythmia. The program is one of three selected projects funded as part of the LBG program “Clinical Research Groups (KFG)” and is led by Sebastian Reinstadler from the University Clinic for Cardiology and Angiology at the Medical University of Innsbruck. This program supports disease- and patient-oriented clinical research at the medical universities in Austria and aims at intensifying and professionalizing clinical research as well as knowledge and technology transfer through interdisciplinary cooperation.
A notice: This post was updated on 03.09.2024 at 08:14
