Having a healthy heart is incredibly important. In fact, heart disease is one of the most common causes of death worldwide.
In the UK, stats by the British Heart Foundation revealed that early deaths from cardiovascular conditions, including heart attacks, have reached a 14-year high, with over 39,000 such deaths in England in 2022.
When it comes to the rise in heart-related deaths, the reasons cited are usually to do with poor diet, health inequality and COVID-19.
Whilst in days gone by, the way to a healthy heart was largely unknown, now a number of tech and startup companies are stepping in to help.
How Are Startups Helping People Improve Heart Health?
There are a number of ways that startups are helping, including:
- New wearable devices, able to detect any issues and alert emergency contacts quickly
- AI-detection tools, that can analyse patterns to check for anything that doesn’t look right
- Nutrition-based businesses, giving consumers easier ways to improve and maintain their heart health
Here we take a look at some of the startups pioneering the heart health sector.
PocDoc
PocDoc is a digital diagnostics company making screening for cardio, metabolic, and renal diseases quicker and more accessible.
Last year, the startup launched its ‘Healthy Heart Check’, which measures a patient’s cholesterol levels, heart age, BMI score, and their risk of cardiovascular disease within minutes.
Hello Heart
Hello Heart is an app that allows users to track their heart health and get real-time tips. It can be used by individuals or offered by businesses to employees.
With the app, users can track their blood pressure, get personalised insights, share reports with their doctors and work to improve their heart health and overall wellbeing.
Acorai
Acorai has developed a smart sensor that measures intracardiac pressures. Using non-invasive technology, it is able to help people better understand and manage heart failure.
Based in Sweden, the company recently closed a $4.5M investment round to propel them into other markets and further improve heart health Europe-wide.
Happitech
Happitech has created a free heart health monitor that integrates with smartphones. By starting up the app and placing their finger over their phone camera, users are able to quickly measure their heart rate and gain other insights into their cardiovascular health.
These data points can then be sent to doctors or other healthcare professionals, allowing them to detect and track cardiovascular diseases as early as possible.
Eko
Eko is on a mission to help doctors more accurately detect heart disease. To do this, they have reinvented the stethoscope to include more comprehensive technology for tracking.
Their range of digital stethoscopes can detect murmurs and AFib during every exam, helping doctors give their patients the best care possible.
CardiacSense
CardiacSense has created a wearable device that allows vulnerable people to be consistently monitored. The company uses small chips embedded in wearables to create sensors with over 95% sensitivity, allowing them to provide consistent and accurate tracking.
By giving older or vulnerable people better ways to be monitored, it can help them get the emergency care they need before it’s too late.
Neko Health
Hailing from the preventative healthcare space, Neko Health provides a full body scan to alert doctors and patients to any abnormalities – including within their hearts.
With millions of data points registered in just a few minutes, the company is able to help people better track their health and act quickly if needed.
Season
Heart health isn’t just about movement, it’s hugely influenced by nutrition too. Season works by giving people virtual dietician consultations, allowing them to improve their health through food.
With a 2 minute test, users can be instantly matched to dieticians that can help them with areas like lowering cholesterol, weight management and general wellness.
