New wrist-worn device can quickly tell if you're having a heart attack

New wrist-worn device can quickly tell if you’re having a heart attack

Medical Xpress April 3, 2023
By David C Gaze, The Conversation

Scientists have developed a wrist-worn device that could revolutionize treating heart attacks by speeding up diagnosis—without the need to draw blood (the current method).

Over 700,000 people visit A&E in England and Wales because of chest pain. And they account for 25% of medical admissions to hospital.

These patients usually have varying symptoms, related complex health conditions, and are often on several medications. Assessing them is difficult. But it usually includes reviewing their medical history, taking a heart trace of the electrical activity of the heart (called an electrocardiogram), and taking a chest X-ray.

The electrocardiogram, or ECG, can show changes in the heart rhythm associated with a heart attack in about 50% of patients. The remainder do not show...