This section has been created specifically to address the needs of healthcare professionals who may encounter patients wishing to discuss the results from their MHM 100 ECG test and/or the Medick Personal Heart Reporting Service.
For ease of reference, just click on the relevant question(s) below to find out more.
The standard scan period for ECG testing is 24 hours, why is the MHM 100 used for just 8 hours?
The Medick MHM 100 is designed to screen for potential problems. Over a period of 8 hours it is generally accepted that sufficient data is gathered to enable a decision to be made as to whether further investigation is required or not. This could then lead to a 24 hour test being requested by the GP. In some cases GPs will consider the MHM 100 findings, together with their clinical judgement, sufficiently clear to enable an immediate referral to a cardiologist.
The MHM 100 is the first device and service of its kind to be offered to the public, what data exist to demonstrate the benefits of this service?
The MHM 100 is derived from hospital technology using leading neural network technology and is the result of initial research with Brunel University (UK). A clinical version of the device has been available to the NHS since 2000 and is currently being used by over 3,000 GPs nationwide.
Whilst no formal clinical norms for regular ECG testing exist, our Medical Advisory Board, consisting of three world leading Cardiologists, Professor John Camm, Professor Brian Glenville and Dr Wyn Davies, has advised that it is clinically sound. This is principally because changes can occur at any time and early detection is beneficial. For some, the reassurance of frequent testing is especially helpful. This fits in with the practice observed within rehabilitation clinics, who recommend regular heart monitoring for those who have had a heart attack. Also, there are a number of known cases where arrhythmias requiring treatment have been detected in otherwise asymptomatic individuals. These demonstrate that the MHM 100 and the Medick Personal Heart Reporting Service could be a very valuable screening tool. Click here for further details on our Medical Advisory Board
Is frequent ECG scanning likely to raise considerable anxiety in the public and increase the number of needless visits to already overloaded GP surgeries? Furthermore, surely the numbers of individuals likely to benefit from such mass screening are very small?
With an ageing population, 22 million over-50s in the UK, and the fact that 30% of us will die of heart disease, the benefits of screening with the MHM 100 could be significant. Research shows that people are eager to take on more responsibility for their own health management, hence the growth of various pharmacy services such as cholesterol testing, diabetes screening and BP monitoring.
Healthantec's own research shows that people felt one of the main reasons for using the MHM 100 would be the reassurance and peace of mind it provided. Many of the needless visits to GP’s are by people whose worries could be allayed with the use of the MHM 100 and our on-line cardiologist report. This service should effectively reduce needless visits to the GP, while providing an informative ECG report for any appointments that are made.
