In the modern world people constantly experience the influence of many negative factors such as stress, a polluted environment, overpopulation, poor quality industrial food processing, food substitutes and many others, causing health problems. Many diseases develop very slowly not showing any symptoms for a long time. When symptoms begin showing up, the disease may reach a point when it is extremely difficult if not impossible to cure. Therefore proper and systematic health assessment among the population becomes very important regardless to whether or not people have any health problems.

Unfortunately our healthcare system does not utilize the full potential of preventive measures to guard the health of our citizens using existing technologies and methods of conducting regular health assessments. Thus it is very important to show how to use these efficient methods of mass health assessment.

We all know that cardiovascular diseases are number one cause of mortality in many countries of the world. In the U.S.A. alone about 1 million people die every year due to cardiovascular problems. Therefore it is extremely important to focus on using methods of cardiovascular health assessment on a large scale.

The general public, employers, government and healthcare organizations should share responsibility for public health. Timely and adequate cardiovascular health assessments will equally benefit everyone. People will save their lives. Employers will save money by cutting their expenses on health insurance, treatment, and work absenteeism. The governments will cut tax losses. The healthcare organizations will increase the efficiency of their services.

So how can cardiovascular health assessment be organized on a population level? The most effective approach is to organize and regularly carry out mass health screening of the general public. This can be done at the workplace with large number of employees, in government and public organizations, universities and schools, malls, supermarkets, drugstores, sport clubs and health fairs. To conduct such mass health assessments, small healthcare businesses and mobile groups from large medical centers can be involved by being encouraged by a special national healthcare program.

What tools can be utilized to conduct cardiovascular health assessment as a part of health screening program? There is a wide variety of medical equipment and technologies designed for thorough cardiovascular diagnostic routines such as CT and MRI scans, angiography, ultrasound scanners, stress-test systems and many more. As a rule those are quite expensive procedures conducted in specially equipped medical centers. At the same time there are modern technologies designed for cardiovascular health assessment based on simple and non-invasive methods of testing.

For example, Biocom Technologies has developed a portable system for cardiovascular health assessment based on a special method of pulse wave recording and its further deep analysis to evaluate vascular elasticity and heart rate variability (HRV).

The screening process takes into account the patient’s personal information, their answers to a few health questions, their blood pressure reading, and a 5-minute pulse wave reading, recorded by a pulse oximeter.

The computer program produces a detailed analysis of the given information and formulates a conclusion on the state of the patient’s cardiovascular health, including the following data:

·         Patient information

·         Biometric data

·         Blood pressure evaluation

·         Overall health risk evaluation

·         Autonomic balance and tone evaluation

·         Evaluation of peripheral artery elasticity

·         The patient’s biological age, determined from the state of their cardiovascular health

·         Adaptation capabilities of cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms

·         Blood oxygen saturation

·         General conclusions about the patient’s cardiovascular health condition.

The screening process using this program must be provided by a specially trained technician. After the completion of this process, the patient receives a report which can then be forwarded to their physician who can give them a detailed explanation on their test results and their cardiovascular health condition.

After the completion of the screening process, the technician forwards the patient’s test results to the main test result repository located on a secure Internet server. The patient or their physician can then access the repository archive using a security code. From the archive, they may receive test results for review or see the patient’s testing history. It is recommended to conduct this health assessment four times a year in order to be better able to detect subtle changes in the function of the cardiovascular system and properly adjust treatment methods.

In the near future, Biocom Technologies plans to release an inexpensive simplified method of cardiovascular health assessment for home use. This will enable general consumers to perform their health assessment at home and to monitor its dynamics. Furthermore, they may periodically share their test results with their physician to receive qualified advice on how to improve the state of their cardiovascular health.