NEW YORK, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- E.K.Guard, Inc., a privately held company that combines medical technologies and services to bring doctors and healthcare closer to patients wherever they are located, today announced the beginning of patient enrollment for its new cardiac emergency service. When the service is fully activated in early November, it will save the lives of heart attack patients by dramatically reducing time-to-treatment while providing peace of mind for people experiencing false alarms.
The E.K.Guard service, designed and endorsed by leading cardiologists, combines a remote cardiac assessment with an emergency response mechanism. E.K.Guard member patients have access to a team of cardiologists and nurses, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. They are also equipped with a small, easy-to- use handheld personal electrocardiogram (EKG) device, approved by the FDA, that records the same high-quality 12-Lead electrocardiogram doctors use in their offices and in hospitals.
The device is designed to transmit EKG results by telephone to the E.K.Guard Cardiologist Call Center. Call Center cardiologists will use this information to help determine if the patient is having a heart attack or if their cause for concern is really nothing to worry about. The whole process takes only five minutes.
If it’s an emergency, the service will work to dispatch an ambulance, alert the E.R. and the patient’s regular doctor. If it’s a false alarm, the patient’s mind is put at ease, and since the patient found out from the comfort of home or wherever they might be, a costly, unnecessary trip to the E.R. is avoided.
“E.K.Guard will provide a new standard of care by dramatically reducing response time, the single most critical factor for saving heart attack victims’ lives,” said E.K.Guard President and CEO, Jay R. Lichtenstein. “E.K.Guard member patients are encouraged to call E.K.Guard’s Cardiology Call Center day or night, at the first sign of a symptom. There are no limits to how many times a member can call.
“If patients are experiencing what they think might be heart attack symptoms,” continued Mr. Lichtenstein, “we will provide them answers, fast. If it’s a false alarm, patients are reassured within minutes, and their minds are put at ease. If it is a heart attack or other potential cardiac problem, help will be mobilized quickly so that the patient can obtain rapid, life- saving treatment.”
Franklyn Laifer, MD, Medical Advisor to E.K.Guard and Principal of the Cardiologist Call Center, said, “Today, the average delay from symptom onset to calling emergency services is alarmingly high -- anywhere from four to six hours. Yet, irreversible heart damage occurs after only two hours. E.K.Guard’s service can reduce this delay to minutes -- greatly increasing a patient’s chance of survival. “The American Heart Association guidelines suggest patients seek help within the first five minutes of feeling symptoms,” Dr. Laifer continued. “Our goal is to make it easy for patients to follow those guidelines.”
The service is aimed at private-pay members who already suffer from cardiovascular disease and are concerned about heart attacks. A three-year subscription costs $499 for the remote EKG device and activation process, plus a $69 monthly membership fee for unlimited access to the Cardiologist Call Center. Shorter service plans are available. The E.K.Guard service is now available in New York City and the surrounding tri-state area: New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. It will be available in other regions in 2006.
The E.K.Guard cardiac emergency service is based on a model in use by more than 100,000 patients for more than a decade in Israel, U.K., Germany and Switzerland. Subscribers to the service in these countries have dramatically improved cardiac survival rates.(1)
The Need for E.K.Guard
Cardiovascular disease is very widespread. According to the Centers for Disease Control, by the ages 55-64, well over half the U.S. population has some form of cardiovascular disease (including coronary heart disease (CHD), congestive heart failure, stroke and hypertension). It’s the country’s largest healthcare problem, impacting one in four adults in the U.S. Nearly 500,000 patients died from CHD in 2002 -- making CHD the number one killer of both men and women.
E.K.Guard Reduces Time-to-Treatment. The main factor leading to the high mortality rate is the fact that many patients delay seeking treatment. Even though it is proven that treatments are most effective in the first hour, studies show that only one in five heart attack victims get to the hospital within that time.(2) After only two hours from first symptoms, the heart suffers irreversible damage and mortality rates double.(3) Unfortunately, an alarming 65 percent of heart attack victims have not yet arrived at the hospital within two hours of the first symptoms.(4)
E.K.Guard Reduces Unnecessary Trips to the E.R. Among those heart patients who do go to the E.R., nine out of ten will be diagnosed as “false alarms,” after spending significant, anxious time there. Unnecessary trips to the E.R. add significantly to the already high cost of cardiovascular disease, the country’s largest healthcare cost at more than $250 billion in annual direct and indirect costs.
About E.K.Guard
E.K.Guard, Inc. is a privately held company that combines innovative medical technologies and services to create a new standard of care for solving today’s most difficult healthcare problems. The company’s life-saving technologies and services quickly put patients and their vital medical information in immediate contact with remotely located doctors and other medical experts. The experts interact directly with the patient by phone while assessing the comprehensive information that’s been transmitted to them so they can advise the patient on appropriate care. E.K.Guard’s highly experienced management team, led by President and CEO Jay R. Lichtenstein, has a successful track record bringing a wide range of healthcare products and services to the market.
E.K.Guard also has an experienced medical advisory board, chaired by Allan Schwartz, M.D. Dr. Schwartz is the Chief of the Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University.
For more information visit http://www.ekguard.com. (1) Roth A., Herling M., and Vishlitzki V. The impact of “Shahal” (a new cardiac emergency service) on subscribers’ requests for medical assistance: characteristics and distribution of calls. European Heart Journal. 1995; 16(1): 129-33 (2) David Faxon, MD, et al. Timing is Everything. Circulation 2001;104:1210-1211. (3) The GUSTO Investigators. New England Journal of Medicine. 1993;329:673-682. (4) Gurwitz JH, McLaughlin TJ, Willison DJ, et al. Delayed hospital presentation in patients who have had acute myocardial infarction. Annals of Internal Medicine. 1997;126(8):593-9. Media contacts: Kirsten Plonner RF Binder Partners 212-994-7546 kirsten.plonner@rfbinder.com Kelly Wester RF Binder Partners 212.994.7586 kelly.wester@rfbinder.com
E.K.Guard, Inc.
CONTACT: Kirsten Plonner, +1-212-994-7546, kirsten.plonner@rfbinder.com,or Kelly Wester, +1-212-994-7586, kelly.wester@rfbinder.com, both of RFBinder Partners, for E.K.Guard, Inc.
Web site: http://www.ekguard.com/
