Health & Wellness

Boomer Edition | 11th Annual - 2015

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Mary Tappe displays her Medtronic CareLink monitor, which reads information from Tappe's implanted automatic defibrillator. This system has previosuly reivived Tappe after going into Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Health and Wellness Magazine • 65 Bringing HeaLTH care HoMe Mary Tappe had just arrived at a meeting on an ordinary afternoon when she died from Sudden Cardiac Arrest, a condition where the heart suddenly stops beating, preventing blood flow to the brain and other vital organs. If not treated within minutes, SCA usually causes death. Lucky for Tappe, her coworkers sprang into action, performing CPR and using an Automated External Defibrillator to shock her heart back to life. Doctors couldn't provide an explanation for what occurred, but the Automated Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator they placed in her chest gave her some comfort. Tappe then had a second SCA as she slept. But this time, her device delivered two shocks to restart her heart and stabilize its rhythm, and sent an alert to Medtronic, the AICD manufacturer. The alert was then forwarded to her cardiologist, Dr. Charles Fuenzalida, at Aurora Denver Cardiology Associates. Health care sits on a precipice with a wave of 76 million baby boomers swelling behind it. The surge of boomers brings challenges: more patients with multiple, chronic conditions and disabilities; low health literacy rates, especially among those 65 and older; and a dwindling pool of providers to take on the growing demand. Mobile health — or health-related services via mobile platforms, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops — aspires to ease this burden by making health information user-friendly, bolstering doctor-patient communication, encouraging consumer involvement and inspiring personal accountability. It's a lofty goal in an industry that's more plodder than pacesetter, but examples of successful mobile health interventions abound. There are remote heart monitors that save lives, health education apps that provide consumers with decision-making tools and wellness trackers that churn out data to motivate people to lead healthier lives. Will technology help define and direct a new model of health care that is patient-centered, community-focused, connected and a part of every day life? That might be up to us.

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