App tracks walking speed, a new health measure

Treatment TermsHeart failure Additional SEO Keywords vital sign, vitals, walking speed, gait speed, health measure, health measurement, health app, health tracker, heart failure SEO Meta Description A phone app developed by Duke researcher measures walking speed, which can be a benchmark of your health. Overview 6th Vital Sign —a phone app developed by Duke researchers—measures walking speed, which can be a benchmark of your health. Content Blocks Header Walking speed, a new vital sign ContentWhen you visit a health care professional, they ’ll likely take your vitals: heart rate, breathing rate, body temperature and blood pressure. These measures of your body’s basic functions help caregivers assess and monitor your health. Your caregiver may also ask how much pain you’re feeling—sometimes considered a fifth vital sign.Now Duke researchers are proposing a sixth vital sign: walking speed, or gait speed. They ’ve developed a phone app, called6th Vital Sign, that allows you to measure your speed during a timed two-minute walk —information you can share with your doctor.Dr. Jacob Kelly, MD, an advancedheart failure fellow at Duke who helped develop the app, said the information will be helpful in his practice. “It will provide valuable insight to know how far patients can travel within the time limit,” he said. “If my patients use this regularly and share the data during their appointments with us, I will know a lot more about their overa...
Source: dukehealth.org: Duke Health News - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Source Type: news