SCIENTISTS hope to revolutionise the way patients with heart conditions are monitored with a new app.

Researchers at the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre have begun the second phase of a study that allows doctors to monitor around the clock the weight, heart rate and blood oxygen levels of patients who have heart conditions.

For the new study, which started last month, the research centre has given 200 patients in the county tablet PCs that record their vital signs and send the information to their doctor via the internet.

Clinical researcher Dr Andreas Triantafyllidis said the app could completely change the way heart conditions are monitored.

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He added: “Patients usually have to have their monitoring done at in-patient centres or in person.

“With this new system doctors will be able to see how their patient is doing and any issues will be flagged.

“We hope that the system could save lives. We’re only at the beginning, but it is very exciting.”

One of the patients who was enrolled on the scheme is Kidlington resident Fliss Emptage.

In 2011 she was diagnosed with heart failure, meaning her heart was not pumping blood around her body correctly.

As a result, she had to retire from her job as a criminal researcher with Thames Valley Police.

The 58-year-old said: “It has completely changed my life.

“My condition means that I get tired very quickly, I become exhausted after walking up a flight of stairs. It’s also made me very worried about my health in general. I’m constantly concerned about how I live my life.”

But after being enrolled in the study, Miss Emptage feels more confident. She said: “There’s a lot of reassurance that comes with this new system. I’m able to access my own records and see how I’m doing. And I know that if there is a problem, there’s a clinical professional who will be looking at my vital signs.

“It’s completely changed my life and it makes me feel reassured about my condition.”

The project was funded as part of a £250,000 to study heart failure.

The public can find out more about the research centre’s work, at the Oxford Martin School in Broad Street today between noon and 6pm, as part of the National Institute for Health Research Open Weeks. See oxfordbrc.nihr.ac.uk