innovate arkansas

The heart-health alarm has been sounding for a while now, and Americans continue to hit the snooze button.

David James and Darrell Amy of Conway's Young at Heart-North America want to rouse us out of our cardiovascular malaise. Their innovative cardio-health screening system can be plugged into the USB port of any PC that is connected to the Internet.

Users simply open the Young at Heart application in their Web browser and clip a pulse oximeter onto their index finger. The system reads users' pulse waves, analyzes them online and returns their "Comparative Vascular Age" in about 90 seconds.

For example, you are a 44-year-old male. But the burgers and chili-cheese Fritos you consume just a little too often have contributed to a "CardioID" of 55.

"It does this by using proven pulse velocity analysis technology," Amy said. "The system measures arterial stiffness and correlates it with a statistically sound clinical database of normal, healthy individuals."

The system can be used at home or at any number of potential screening centers.

Amy can spout off jaw-dropping stats - 85 million Americans with some sort of heart health issues, more than 64 percent of the U.S. population considered technically obese (75 percent by 2015), a 2050 shortfall of 16,000 cardiologists, according to the American Society of Cardiology.

"Something must be done to awaken the average American, or there won't be enough doctors to fix us," he said.

Young at Heart intends to wake them up. Former pharmaceutical rep David James approached his buddy Amy, a serial tech entrepreneur, about the idea behind the firm after losing both his parents to fatal heart attacks, each at a relatively young age. They pulled in Bryan Henry, owner of Conway's Summit Medical, a diabetes supply company, and Scott Brown, a local chiropractor who serves as chief medical officer, and a startup called Vastech was born.

As Amy puts it, the four founders "set off to explore the opportunity to change the face of wellness in the U.S."

"The idea was born out of passion to really make a difference in this world," Amy said. "A legacy of the value of good health is really the only legacy we can leave. Without good health, nothing else really matters."

As Vastech, the team developed and trademarked the CardioID and KnowYourCardioID brands, and attended the Florida Chiropractors Association convention last fall with the notion of selling chiropractors on the idea.

"Most people that came to the booth immediately saw the potential for attracting new people to their clinic for cardiovascular screenings," Amy said. "They also saw the potential to grow their nutritional supplement business."

The only obstacle? The initial screening device carried a $10,000 price tag - a hefty investment for most clinics. The team knew it needed a more cost-effective technology, which led it to Young at Heart, an emerging European wellness screening provider based in Amsterdam that had been looking for an American distributor of its products.

"When David started talking about the resources of Conway, explaining the technology infrastructure that had attracted Hewlett-Packard, and presenting the diabetes-testing device distribution experience of Bryan Henry, the seeds of a partnership were sown," Amy said.

Young at Heart adapted Vastech's technology, and an exclusive North American distribution deal was made. As part of the agreement, Vastech now does business as Young at Heart-North America.

For Amy, who serves as CEO, the deal was a no-brainer.

"Young at Heart is a pioneer in bringing health screening to an online platform," he said. "We are capitalizing on the current trend of self-service health care launched by companies like WebMD, and bringing it to the next level. With an online screening platform, we are able to deploy tests quickly and cost-effectively. Results are communicated in a straightforward way that the average person can understand."

Young at Heart offers professional and personal editions of the screening. The professional edition allows unlimited users - a clinic could launch "a cardiovascular screening business-in-a-box."

The personal edition allows users to screen and track their comparative vascular age over time. Professional-edition users will be able to sell the personal edition, which is available for purchase online as well.

Before Vastech became Young at Heart-North America, it was another Arkansas tech-based startup looking for that big break. Becoming an Innovate Arkansas client was another no-brainer.

"Innovate Arkansas has played an important role in the development of our strategy," Amy said. "The team of experienced business, financial and legal professionals helped us tighten up our business plan. They were instrumental in helping us negotiate the terms of our distribution agreement. With our current capital raise, they have helped us develop a fundraising strategy and put us in front of potential investors."

With that IA nudge behind it, Amy says the sky is the limit in terms of growth. The firm's business plan forecasts 220 employees in the next five years - all in central Arkansas.

"The exponential growth plans for this business are exciting," he said. "Large, national companies that we have approached about this are very open to the business opportunity of promoting cardiovascular wellness."

Amy said the firm has identified six channels of growth - pharmacies, nutritional direct-sales companies, wellness providers (chiropractors and nutritional doctors), wellness-screening companies, fitness centers and pharmaceutical companies.
"Current conversations and pilots with regional and national players in these channels are very positive," he said. "The company is launching with a nutritional supplement direct-sales company in June, and has active pilots in the wellness and pharmacy channels."

Amy and his Vastech co-founders indeed are sounding the alarm. Now they just need to disable the snooze button. After all, no child should have to suffer through the sudden loss of his parents to a heart attack.

"More than the financial opportunity, we know that providing a cost-effective way for millions of people to get cardiovascular wellness will motivate many to start new wellness patterns in their life," Amy said. "We hope the CardioID initiative will be a wake-up call to help many people take preventative action with diet, exercise and nutritional supplements.

"In doing this, we'll help many people avoid the sadness of losing family and loved ones to preventable cardiovascular wellness issues."