Smartphone app to detect underlying heart condition

How about an app that can detect in a jiffy if you are suffering from atrial fibrillation (AF), a serious type of heart arrhythmia that is often a precursor to stroke?

With AliveECG app, you can get an almost instant, highly accurate interpretation for free.

According to the San Francisco-based firm AliveCor, its heart arrhythmia-detecting app algorithm has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for professional or personal use.

AliveECG app runs an algorithm that detects atrial fibrillation.

For people with a history or heart trouble, the app and the algorithm could provide a life-saving early warning system.

It consists of a heart monitor attached to an Android or iOS smartphone that rests on your fingers or chest to record your electrocardiogram (ECG).

The app then sends the information to your smartphone with help from an ultrasonic signal which is picked up by your phone's microphone, engadget reported.

This piece of information can be uploaded to AliveCor's server where the heart arrhythmia-detecting app algorithm will give the user a highly accurate interpretation.

This data can then be shared with the cardiologist for further tests to decide the course of treatment.