Heartbeat Health, a digital health startup founded by a cardiologist, raised $8.2 million in series A funding. Boston-based firm .406 Ventures and Optum Ventures led the funding round. Other investors that participated in the round include Kindred Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Designer Ventures and Max Ventures.
Payal Divakaran, a partner with .406 Ventures, joined Heartbeat Health’s board of directors with the investment.
“The statistics on cardiovascular disease are staggering – heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. With many of the challenges of heart health being related to preventable factors, the condition is ripe for high quality virtual care,” Divakaran said in a news release. “We are excited to back Heartbeat Health as it has developed the first, best and only solution to this problem highlighted by recent cardiovascular studies. We were also attracted to the exceptional team that Dr. Wessler and his co-founders have assembled.”
Dr. Jeff Wessler, a cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University, founded the New York-based startup in 2017. Heartbeat Health combines risk-assessment data with telehealth.
Users can pull in heart-rate data from their Fitbit or Apple Watch to track their health. Patients have an initial consult through a telemedicine visit before they’re directed to an in-person visit. The company operates a clinic in New York City.
“Evolving trends in telemedicine and digital health make cardiovascular disease well suited for virtual care,” Wessler said in a news release. “Heart health is a significant concern for a large portion of the population, but also an area that can be supported by technology for both preventive health and ongoing care management. Our enterprise customers appreciate that we are leading the way in providing a digital first and patient-centric approach to cardiovascular care.”
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Heartbeat Health offers its services as an employee benefit and as a telemedicine tool for long-term care facilities. The company said it works with more than 10,000 patients.
Photo credit: hudiemm, Getty Images
