Cardiovascular disease moves in stealth. Years pass with no visible signs. Once chest pain, fatigue or other physical symptoms set in, the heart has already been overworked and damaged.
Warning signs of an unhealthy heart, though, can lurk — not so quietly — in its many complex sounds. That's why FIU researchers Joshua Hutcheson and Valentina Dargam have come up with a way to "listen" for changes — providing a way to pinpoint markers of heart failure based on the frequency and durations of sounds in a cardiac cycle.
Paired with an algorithm, their invention could open the door to more accessible, low-cost diagnostics for routine doctor's visits or at-home style tests for earlier detection, diagnosis and better treatment outcomes. The researchers are currently working with Dr. Tom Nguyen from Baptist Health's Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute to begin clinical studies related to this work.
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