If ever a bed deserved a five star review, this is it. In a recent report, doctors explained how a smart bed monitor saved a 70-year-old man from a certain target.
James IP, a cardiologist at We We We We We We We We We We We We Fill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, detailed the strange tale in the New England Journal of Medicine. The man’s bed rest said he had an abnormally slow heart rate, prompting a trip to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with a life-threatening full heart condition. Fortunately, doctors successfully managed his condition with a pacemaker.
“These consumer-oriented devices are being programmed into a new era of medicine where patients are now empowered to help detect arryhythmias,” IP told Gizmoto in an email.
A bed that saves life
According to the report, the man visited for several hours to have a slow heartbeat, also known as BradyCardia, and breathing. The normal resting heart rate range is around 60 to 100 beats per minute, while severe Bradycardia starts to occur below 40 beats per minute.
Earlier that day, the man’s bedside alerted him that his heart rate the night before (42 hiats per minute) was much lower than normal (78 beats per minute). The man confirmed bedside heart rate readings with a smartwatch and a home blood pressure monitor. After starting to feel short of breath, she called her doctor about her symptoms, who told her to immediately seek emergency care.
There, doctors reconfirmed his BradyCardia, and an electrocardiogram (ECG) test revealed that he had a healthy heart. The condition, also known as Third Third Heart Block, occurs when electrical signals from the upper chambers of the heart (atria) are completely blocked from reaching the lower chamber (vertris). This blockage causes the two parts of the heart to beat independently of each other, resulting in slow heart rate. If left untreated, this bradycardia can lead to fatal cardiac arrest or heart failure.
Fortunately, the man sought medical attention in time. He was placed aside a magnificent pacemaker in an unlimited room, a standard treatment for complete heart block, after which his symptoms disappeared.
The Future of Cardiovascular Monitoring
The smart bed detected the man’s bradycardia with ballistocardiography (BCG), which uses subtle body movements to measure heart rate. In this case, the bed was certainly right to worry about the human heart.
“Although asymptomatic bradycardia during sleep is normal, the sudden appearance of unexpected, visible bradycardia prompts evaluation, especially with confirmed electrocardiography,” the IP wrote in his report.
BCG monitoring is an additional feature added to consumer products such as beds and mattresses. And while it is possible that you should not rely on your bed or dressing in general only to find any medical problems, this type of technology can act as the first warning sign to bring with your doctor.
“Increasing recognition of these devices can help patients and doctors to manage arrhythmias based on wearable-directed medical care,” said the IP.
Boy, if I were that man, I would never leave that bed.
