Initial use of the medical device in the U. S. is only in the Chicago area
A new medical device that can help lower blood pressure with no side effects is now available in the United States by prescription exclusively in the Chicago area. The device, called RespeRate, analyzes a patient's breathing, then creates sound patterns that guide the patient to through breathing exercises to lower his or her breathing rate. Following each 15-minute exercise, the usual breathing rate resumes. Within a few weeks of use, blood pressure can be lowered with no side effects.
Doctors at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center issued the first prescriptions for the device to hypertension patients late in November.
It is the first medical device cleared for marketing by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as an adjunctive treatment for high blood pressure. It is used only under the direction of physicians, together with other medical or non-drug treatments such as diet and exercise. The device is manufactured by InterCure, Inc., a medical device company founded in Israel and headquartered in New York.
To use the RespeRate device, a patient places an elastic belt with a sensor around the mid-section and wears a set of headphones. The sensor and headphones are connected to the small, lightweight RespeRate device (slightly larger than a portable compact disc player) that is set on a table. A processing unit built into RespeRate analyzes the patient's breathing and then creates sound patterns that guide the patient to inhale and exhale at a lower rate best suited for that patient.
Slow and deep breathing is well known to regulate both cardiovascular and nervous systems. The greater lung inflation associated with deep and slow breathing stimulates slowly adapting pulmonary stretch receptors in the cells of the lungs, which leads to blood pressure reduction.
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Contact: John Pontarelli
jpontare@rush.edu
312-942-5949
Rush University Medical Center
17-Jan-2001