New Heart Attack Warning System

MESA, AZ (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It’s like having a crystal ball implanted in your chest. Researchers have developed a new early warning system that could save you from one of the leading killers of men and women.

It didn’t feel like anything major.

"I had a little pain, but that was it," Carl Honaker told Ivanhoe.

It, was a heart attack. Now Carl Honaker has five stents to help keep his heart pumping. Doctors say this little machine could benefit him and many others who are at high risk for a second attack. The guardian is a heart attack warning system. The pacemaker-like device is surgically implanted in the chest. Wires connect it to the heart. The device continuously monitors heart function and can detect signals of blocked arteries.

This is looking for subtle changes that are associated with a decrease in blood flow to a region of the heart," Andrew Kaplan, M.D., an electrophysiologist at Banner Heart Hospital, said.

A pager flashes and beeps and from inside the chest, the guardian vibrates, telling a patient to get help right away.

The heads up could save a lot of lives. According to the CDC, 50% of heart attack deaths happen within one hour of the onset of symptoms.

As for carl, he’s not sure what’s in the cards for him. but for now…

"I’m just glad I’m healthy and alive," Carl said.

The "guardian" is still considered experimental. 50 sites across the U.S. are testing it in a clinical trial. In all, one thousand heart patients around the country are being fitted with the warning system. MORE

More Information

Click here for additional research on New Heart Attack Warning System

Click here for Ivanhoe's full-length interview with Dr. Andrew Kaplan

If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marsha Hitchcock at mhitchcock@ivanhoe.com