OMRON Healthcare Evolves Going for Zero Mission to Address AFib Epidemic

Global heart health leader sets its sights on atrial fibrillation as a priority along with high blood pressure in evolved mission to eliminate heart attack and stroke

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., March 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Global heart health leader OMRON Healthcare today announced an evolution of its Going for Zero mission to eliminate heart attack and stroke with increased focus on atrial fibrillation (AFib), expanded education initiatives, and advancement of its digital health transformation to support a healthcare system facing staffing shortages and crisis-level health inequities.

"OMRON Healthcare is recognized for our Going for Zero mission to eliminate heart attack and stroke. Our mission means we judge our success on improving outcomes. Accomplishing this bold mission requires us to continuously evaluate and focus on the highest cardiac event risk factors and how OMRON can intervene to help. While high blood pressure is the leading cause¹ of heart attack and stroke, AFib is rising as a global epidemic²," said OMRON Healthcare President and CEO Ranndy Kellogg.

According to the American Heart Association, more than 116 million³ American adults are living with high blood pressure – that's nearly half of all adults in the U.S. OMRON Healthcare, the number one doctor and pharmacist-recommended brand of blood pressure monitor, offers heart health technology for every one of them.

High blood pressure is a risk factor for AFib, a serious heart rhythm disorder often characterized by irregular and rapid heartbeats. If undiagnosed and unmanaged, AFib can increase stroke risk by five times⁴ the national average. The American Stroke Association states that millions of Americans who have AFib are not diagnosed and are unaware of the health risk⁵. A growing number of experts view AFib as a rising heart health epidemic among an aging global population.

OMRON recently released the documentary-style film short, The Sound of AFib, and launched a global awareness campaign focused on the condition.

Kellogg noted that, since the irregular pattern of AFib makes it difficult to detect, providing the proper tools to monitor for the condition and the knowledge of potential symptoms related to the condition could make a world of difference.

"AFib is under-detected, under-diagnosed, and under-treated," said Kellogg. "The best way to detect AFib is to monitor when someone is experiencing that sense of rapid heartbeat or heart flutter. We are providing easy-to-use technology that anyone can have to monitor for the condition – anytime, anywhere – capture those readings with our OMRON connect app, and even share the data with a doctor for analysis."

Complete™ by OMRON is a first-of-its-kind blood pressure monitor with built-in EKG that can capture essential data to help doctors diagnose AFib and assess how to treat it. OMRON is developing new EKG technologies focused on AFib.

"Research shows ninety percent of heart attacks and strokes⁶ are preventable through regular blood pressure monitoring and behavior change. Teaching people how to change their behavior for better heart health is at the core of our Going for Zero mission," said Jill Person, executive director of marketing at OMRON Healthcare.

"Awareness, education, and knowledge to help reduce heart attack and stroke risk are a higher focus in Going for Zero," added Person. "We are rolling out more quick-read education features in our OMRON Connect app along with useful content across our social media feeds for anyone to access and learn about their heart health and simple steps to behavior change that can help reduce cardiac event risk."

Person also highlighted OMRON's collaboration and partnerships with social media influencers – from heart attack and stroke survivors to high-profile doctors – to engage online communities in dynamic storytelling, awareness, and tips for better heart health.

OMRON Healthcare's evolution into a digital health company will be a key factor in achieving its Going for Zero mission. Digital health tools like the OMRON Connect app; VitalSight, the company's remote patient monitoring service; and ongoing research into the role artificial intelligence can play in detection and prevention of heart attack and stroke risk, are all part of OMRON's digital transformation journey to engage consumers and doctors in new ways.

"The evolution of our Going for Zero mission prioritizes digital health to drive better health outcomes for patients and their care teams," said Person.

Kellogg and Person recognized the rise in healthcare staffing shortages, a beleaguered healthcare workforce facing a growing demand for care, and the crisis of ongoing health disparities as motivating factors to make digital transformation a Going for Zero priority.

"Going for Zero is a bold mission. It's at the center of everything we do," said Kellogg. "Ninety percent of heart attacks and strokes are preventable through routine monitoring, healthier diet, regular exercise, and not smoking. That's a big reason to believe in Going for Zero."

About OMRON Healthcare, Inc.
OMRON Healthcare, Inc., is the world's leading manufacturer and distributor of personal heart health products and an innovator in technologies supporting respiratory and pain management care. With 50 years of medical device category leadership, OMRON is passionate about empowering people to take charge of their health at home through precise technology. Its market-leading products include a full range of home blood pressure monitors, nebulizers, and TENS devices. The company's mission is Going for Zero, the elimination of heart attacks and strokes. With more than 350 million devices sold globally, OMRON provides the world's most recommended blood pressure monitors by healthcare professionals. OMRON Healthcare has always strived to improve lives and contribute to a better society by developing innovations that help people prevent, treat, and manage their medical conditions, and we provide products and services in over 110 countries. For more information, visit OmronHealthcare.com.

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1 CDC Heart disease and stroke https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/heart-disease-stroke.htm

² AHA Journals, Epidemiology of Atrial Fibrillation in the 21^st Century https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.316340

³ American Heart Association Is High Blood Pressure Inevitable? https://www.heart.org/en/news/2020/05/18/is-high-blood-pressure-inevitable-heres-how-to-keep-it-in-check

⁴ Verywell Health 2022 https://www.verywellhealth.com/afib-and-stroke-5217796

⁵ American Stroke Association https://scnow.com/news/health/many-people-have-atrial-fibrillation-but-may-not-know-it/article_bb910f20-cc44-11e9-8406-c39ac04db63b.html

⁶ Cleveland Clinic, September 2021 https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2021/09/29/90-percent-of-heart-disease-is-preventable-through-healthier-diet-regular-exercise-and-not-smoking/

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SOURCE OMRON Healthcare