Houston, TX (PRWEB) February 08, 2014
As the American Heart Association recognizes February as American Heart Month, a simple and inexpensive FDA-approved technology is breaking new ground in helping doctors determine the fitness of a person’s cardiovascular system by measuring the temperature in one’s fingertips -- an advancement that could lead to the early detection and more effective monitoring of cardiovascular health in millions of people worldwide.
Developed at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, Texas, the technology named VENDYS® is a 15-minute, non-invasive test that measures vascular function by monitoring temperature changes at the fingertips during and after a brief arm-cuff occlusion procedure. The completely automated test instantly generates a colorful, easy-to-understand report. Plus, the VENDYS® test is paid by most insurance companies.
“Primary care doctors who integrate the VENDYS® technology into their practice have a quick and easy way to determine if a patient is suffering from vascular dysfunction which is the gateway to future heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular disease,” says Dr. Morteza Naghavi, the inventor of VENDYS and Chairman of Endothelix Scientific Advisory Board. “Plus, doctors can track their patients’ vascular response to treatments over time.”
One in three Americans will die from heart disease or stroke, and fully 60 percent will have a major vascular event before they die. Recognizing this burden on public health, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology recently released four clinical practice prevention guidelines in the areas of lifestyle, obesity, cholesterol and risk assessment.
“Cardiovascular disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States,” adds Naghavi. “The VENDYS technology aims to bring a comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment solution to doctors’ offices that is simple, inexpensive, and operator independent.”
Cardiovascular disease is not only America’s number one killer (more than one million deaths each year), it also is the most expensive disease (more than $300 billion per year).
Current methods for screening and early detection of cardiovascular disease include blood tests for measurement of traditional risk factors (such as high cholesterol) or advanced, non-invasive imaging techniques such as CAT scan and MRI. While traditional risk factors are long-term predictors of future cardiovascular disease, Naghavi says they do not measure the state of an individual’s vascular health.
Moreover, he says radiation from advanced imaging modalities pose both health and cost barriers and therefore cannot be used repeatedly.
About Endothelix Inc.
Endothelix Inc. is an innovative cardiovascular device company based in Houston, Texas. By offering its proprietary product, VENDYS (a noninvasive, inexpensive, office-based vascular function measurement device), the company helps physicians improve their patient care and thereby increase their bottom line. The company originated from the Texas Medical Center-Houston from a collaborative project between the Texas Heart Institute and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Endothelix received a $1 million award from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to develop the VENDYS® technology. Endothelix’s product, VENDYS®, is FDA cleared and is currently offered throughout the United States.