PATIENTS with heart problems can now be monitored by specialists from the comfort of their own home thanks to life-saving technology pioneered by East End experts. Cardiac specialists from Barts and the London Trust, which runs the Royal London in Whit

PATIENTS with heart problems can now be monitored by specialists from the comfort of their own home thanks to life-saving technology pioneered by East End experts.

Cardiac specialists from Barts and the London Trust, which runs the Royal London in Whitechapel, are able to monitor a patient's heart rhythm using a new revolutionary defibrillator.

The new device detects any life-threatening problems in the heart rhythm and relays the information back to the hospital from anywhere in the UK via a monitor in the home.

The cutting-edge technology has already been trialled on 300 patients, with another 200 expected to be signed-up in the next few months.

Professor Richard Schilling, a consultant cardiologist at the trust said: "Being able to remotely monitor patients takes this technology to a whole new level,

"We are able to identify heart irregularities before it elevates to a level requiring a shock, giving the patients peace of mind and significant time and cost savings, not to mention possibly saving their life.