Barely two weeks after Damar Hamlin (24) collapsed before a national audience and nearly died from cardiac arrest, Elvis Presley’s only daughter, Lisa Marie (54), died unexpectedly after experiencing a cardiac event. She reportedly made it to the hospital alive[i], but, as in many similar cases, succumbed to the event. More than 350,000 people experience cardiac arrests every year and only 10% survive. By contrast, more than 90% of the estimated 800,000 people who experience heart attacks survive. Unfortunately, about 18% of men and 23% of women survivors will die within a year after discharge[ii][iii].
Buffalo Bill's Damar Hamlin (24) and Lisa Marie Presley (54) suffered unexpected cardiac events. Tragically, Presley did not survive. New sensors and analytical techniques are poised to improve monitoring, trending, and early interventions in health emergencies that may save countless lives.
Science and engineering are making great strides in measuring, monitoring, and deciphering the physiology of these deadly events. Analytical and interpretive technologies like Artificial Intelligence play important roles in identifying patient-specific factors and early signs of impending medical crises. For example, Biobeat exploits artificial intelligence to interpret data from its cuffless blood pressure and cardiovascular monitors, which are being used by innovative providers to monitor cardiac patients during and after discharge from the hospital.
There are growing expectations that the expanded use of noninvasive monitoring technologies will reduce the tragic toll of cardiovascular events. New technologies should also help with a key disease risk factor, patient noncompliance. For example, Biobeat sensors, unlike cuff-based legacy technologies, are comfortable, inexpensive, and measure and trend over a dozen vitals that exceed legacy ambulatory blood pressure monitoring standards. Their reports are designed to improve doctor-patient communication and trust, which research suggests can improve patient trust and treatment compliance.
In summary, we expect to see continuous improvements in sensors, interpretive technologies, patient monitoring, and earlier detection of impending cardiac events. In this context, we also expect improving trends and trajectories reflected in future data from healthcare’s frontlines.
Image references
Lamar Hamlin image courtesy of Wikipedia, Library of Congress, and Tom Williams. Per Wikipedia Commons: This work is from the Roll Call portion of CQ Roll Call collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work.
Lisa Marie Presley image courtesy of Wikipedia, Flickr, and David French, https://www.flickr.com/photos/thedonquixotic/14017741023/ via the Creative CommonsAttribution 2.0 Generic license.
References
[i] Eduardo Medina, April Rubin, and Neil Genzlinger, Lisa Marie Presley, Singer-Songwriter and Daughter of Elvis, Dies at 54, January 12, 2023, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/arts/music/lisa-marie-presley-dead.html [ii] American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee, Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2017 Update: A Report from the American Heart Association, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000485 [iii] Heat Disease Facts, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed January 1, 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm