Hospital Receives Donation from Big Heart Foundation to Purchase A-Fib Screening Equipment

(FROM LEFT, LEON GOBCZYNSKI, BECKY GOBCZYNSKI, GREG UEBINGER, STEPHANIE GOBCZYNSKI UEBINGER, NIKKI TRUPIANO AND LESLIE PROBST OF THE BIG HEART FOUNDATION; HOSPITAL PRESIDENT AND C-E-O THERESA RUTHERFORD; PAUL SCHERSCHEL, SENIOR GIFT OFFICER OF THE PRAIRIE HEART FOUNDATION; KRISTEN DOSTER, EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT OF PRAIRIE HEART FOUNDATION; AND KELLY SAGER, CHIEF NURSING OFFICER AT ST. ANTHONY'S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL)

A 30-second scan to screen adults for atrial fibrillation is now available. A donation from a local helping agency is making the scan available through HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital in Effingham.

The Prairie Heart Foundation at St. Anthony's has received a $5,000 donation from the Andrew Gobczynski Big Heart Foundation to pay for the purchase of five Kardia Mobile devices and five iPads for A-Fib screening.

Atrial fibrillation, or A-Fib, is the most common cardiac arrhythmia that leads to a five times greater risk of stroke. Kardia Mobile is an FDA-cleared personal EKG device that is smaller than a credit card and allows users to take a medical grade single-lead EKG in 30 seconds. The Kardia Pro software platform automatically receives a patient's Kardia Mobile EKG readings, along with home blood pressure readings, activity levels, and weight changes taken with other devices and is compatible with Android and Apple smartphones.

Kristin Doster of Prairie Heart Institute said the availability of the devices, which can be purchased for as little as $99, can let a person take a reading any time they think they have an incident of arrhythmia. That will lead to an instant finding of whether the person has a condition that should be checked.

HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital President and CEO Theresa Rutherford said if the readings are a source of concern, the person  or a friend can phone for an ambulance and the hospital can see whether further action is needed. Rutherford said she hears of people who say, "I just drove myself to the hospital." She encourages people not to do that, but to summon assistance.

(HSHS ST. ANTHONY'S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESIDENT AND C-E-O THERESA RUTHERFORD GOT TESTED WITH ONE OF THE DEVICES. HER HEART RATE CAME BACK NORMAL)

For the first time, artificial intelligence creates a personal heart profile for each user by training the app to recognize whether the primary user or a guest is taking the EKG recording. In the future, this heart profile may be used to notify doctors of changes to a patient's heart rhythm in real time, making it easier than ever for doctors to detect changes early and practice preventive medicine.

Big Heart Foundation Chair Stephanie Gobczynski Uebinger said the Foundation wanted to make the donation as a way to expand the partnership with HSHS and the Prairie Heart Institute. Uebinger said, "Our hope is that this technology will help identify area residents who might have previously undiagnosed heart conditions." 

The Andrew Gobczynski Big Heart Foundation has already partnered with St. Anthony's for an Athletic Heart Screening Program. The Foundation was formed in memory of Andrew Gobczynski, a former Teutopolis and EIU basketball standout, who died at just 33 because of cardiomyopathy, a condition no one knew he had. Now, high schoolers can take advantage of the screening to make them aware of whether they have such a condition.