DocWire News Editors

DocwireNews

It is often challenging for patients to comprehend their medical data in terms of real-life implications. Although patients can look at their blood pressure, blood sugar, heart rate, and other physiological data, they are not always knowledgeable enough to understand these results and make necessary lifestyle changes. To help the consumer better understand these medical results, Maayan Cohen created Hello Heart. This <a href="https://www.docwirenews.com/docwire-pick/study-evaluates-how-effective-fertility-apps-are/">mobile health solution</a> is an app that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to help patients comprehend and improve their heart health.Hello Heart recently completed a $12M Series B led by Khosla Ventures, a top-tier firm who&rsquo;s active in AI and health investments. With this funding, Hello Heart is plans to take its operations to the next level and improve upon their mobile health solution.<h2>What Was the Inspiration Behind Hello Heart?</h2>Hello Heart was conceptualized five years ago by Cohen, the company&rsquo;s CEO. When someone close to her was diagnosed with a serious illness, she found herself tracking vitals, collecting records, and spending countless hours attempting to research what the data meant. This is when she realized that the patient is not empowered with tools to properly understand and improve their health from this information.&ldquo;As a patient, it can be hard to understand what is going on with your health when it&rsquo;s communicated in medical terms,&rdquo; said Cohen in an e-mail to DocWire News. &ldquo;This can lead to inaction by the patient because they don&rsquo;t truly understand their chronic conditions.&rdquo;Cohen decided to take matters into her own hands and create an accessible solution for the general public. Being that the average person spends five hours a day on their <a href="https://www.docwirenews.com/conference-coverage/amcp2018/treatment-adherence-improves-paid-pharmacy-claims-in-patients-with-diabetes-hypertension/">smartphone</a>, she saw this device as a convenient and prevalent way to empower patients.&ldquo;We started Hello Heart with the mission to empower patients to understand and improve their heart health on a device they so-frequently use: their smartphone,&rdquo; Cohen explains. &ldquo;This allows for patients to access information about their health through understandable explanations, anytime and anywhere.&rdquo;<h2>What is the Hello Heart App?</h2>The app itself is a digital platform that empowers users to not only understand their cardiovascular health, but to improve it as well. Being that heart health is the biggest cost factor for employers, this mobile health solution has the potential to improve consumer health and reduce excess spending. This program is backed by clinical evidence and targets those with high blood pressure.Participants in the Hello Heart program receive a wireless blood pressure monitor that they use to enter blood pressure readings into the companion app. This app gives the user real-time personalized tips to promote their overall health.&ldquo;The solution is easy to use, and helps participants improve their heart health in a fun and engaging way,&rdquo; Cohen says. &ldquo;Hello Heart delivers real results &ndash; enrollment rates are 45% of targeted employees and 70% of participants at-risk reduced their blood pressure using Hello Heart.&rdquo;<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-4817207 aligncenter" src="https://mumcdnstorage.blob.core.windows.net/dwnews/2019/08/Monitor_mock1_with_phone_overlapping-1.png" alt="hello heart" width="458" height="456">Hello Heart tailors its guidance and advice to each individual user via machine learning technology, a specific type of artificial intelligence. This AI utilizes blood pressure and blood sugar readings, physical activity, and other user-provided medical data to give digital coaching guidance based on the individual&rsquo;s condition. The app provides medication adherence reminders to users as well to promote healthy lifestyle changes.&ldquo;Our medication adherence reminders are very important for users who use medication to control their blood pressure,&rdquo; Cohen explains. &ldquo;A user can have unusually high readings if they do not take their medication. This part of the program helps to remind them to stay on track of their medication.&rdquo;<h2>A Research Supported Mobile Health Solution</h2>A retrospective study of 5,000 participants was conducted by researchers at Harvard and UCLA evaluating the efficacy of Hello Heart. Published in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13755-017-0026-9">Health Information Science and Systems</a>, this study found that the use of Hello Heart resulted in blood pressure normalization in 57% of those with <a href="https://www.docwirenews.com/conference-coverage/amcp2018/treatment-adherence-improves-paid-pharmacy-claims-in-patients-with-diabetes-hypertension/">hypertension</a>, or high blood pressure, at four weeks. At 22 weeks this effect was seen in an additional 12% of the participants, bringing the total to 69%.In addition, the researchers also observed what they call a &ldquo;dosage effect,&rdquo; in which outcomes improved as more people began using Hello Heart.&ldquo;After six months, the average drop [in blood pressure] was 22 points systolic,&rdquo; Cohen notes. &ldquo;This is outstanding for blood pressure reduction and is more than 2-3x the industry average among disease management programs.&rdquo;<h2>What the Future Holds for Hello Heart</h2>Hello Heart is excited about receiving this recent funding from Khosla Ventures. Some notable investments from Khosla include Square, Stripe, Instacart, DoorDash, Ginger, AliveCore, and Impossible Foods. Previous investors BlueRun Ventures, Maven Ventures and Resolute Ventures also participated in the round. Cheryl Cheng from BlueRun ventures led the series A funding round in 2017.&ldquo;Hello Heart plans to use the funding to scale up our sales team in the employers and health plan space and hire more engineers,&rdquo; Cohen says. &ldquo;We are very excited to continue to grow our team and to be working with Khosla Ventures.&rdquo;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We are very excited to announce we have finalized our Series B, lead by <a href="https://twitter.com/khoslaventures?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KhoslaVentures</a> <a href="https://t.co/h370kfqJhn">https://t.co/h370kfqJhn</a>
&mdash; Hello Heart (@HelloHeartApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/HelloHeartApp/status/1156660042700955648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2019</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

MarkAlain Déry, DO

The Significant Danger Measles Pose for Unvaccinated Children

Infectious Disease

Andrew Moreno

Antithrombotic Care in Hemophilia: A Summary of Multi-Organizational Clinical Practice Guidance

Hemophilia

James Tumlin, MD

Joel M. Topf, MD, FACP

Proteinuria Remission With Sparsentan in FSGS

NKF Spring Clinical Meetings 2025

Latest News

Hello Heart Secures $12M in Funding for Mobile Health Solution

Cardiology

It is often challenging for patients to comprehend their medical data in terms of real-life implications. Although patients can look at their blood pressure, blood sugar, ...

About Us

Editorial Policy

Advertising

Contact Us

eNewsletters

Contribute

Career Center

MashupMD

Blood Cancers Today

Cancer Nursing Today

GU Oncology Now

Urban Health Today

Bile Duct Cancer

Colorectal Cancer

Gastroesophageal Cancer

Gastric Cancer

GEP-NETs

GIST

Liver Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

GI Oncology Now

Anemia

Deep Vein Thrombosis

Essential Thrombocythemia

Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Myelofibrosis

Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Polycythemia Vera

Pulmonary Embolism

Sickle Cell Disease

Thrombocytopenia

Thrombophilia

Thrombosis

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Venous Thromboembolism

von Willebrand Disease

Heme Today

Acute Kidney Injury

ADPKD

Anemia and Kidney Disease

Chronic Kidney Disease

COVID-19 and Kidney Disease

Diabetes and Hypertension

End-Stage Renal Disease

Gout

Hyperkalemia

IgAN

Kidney Transplantation

Metabolic Acidosis

Nephrology Times

HER2 Breast Cancer

HR Breast Cancer

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Genetics & Breast Cancer

Breast Cancers Today

Atherosclerotic Disease

Atrial Fibrillation

Heart Failure

Hypertension

Interventional Cardiology

Lipid Management

Practice Tips With Dr. Lichaa

Preventive Cardiology

Stroke

Breast Cancer

Gynecologic Cancer

Head and Neck Cancer

Skin Cancer

Oncology

Sleep

Urology

Diabetes

Ophthalmology

— Demodex Blepharitis

Neurology

Rheumatology

Gastroenterology

Pulmonology

Infectious Diseases

— HIV

Health and Wellness

Lupus

Future of Medicine

Orthopedics

Pharmacology

Career News

More

Conferences

CardioNerds

The Sleep Source With Dr. Morse

Rheumatology Rounds With Dr. Maheswaranathan

Partners

Expert Interviews

Subscribe