Hello Heart Secures $70M Series D Funding Following FDA Clearance and Demonstrated Efficacy in Lowering Blood Pressure for 86% of Users

According to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 659,000 people in the United States die from heart disease each year, which cost the U.S. economy an estimated $363 billion in 2019. Hypertension and other heart diseases have become the most prevalent chronic conditions and the largest cost drivers within the U.S. healthcare system.

The U.S. Surgeon General has called for active improvements in hypertension control across the United States, while the CDC also recommends that employer-sponsored insurance cover the provision of automated home blood pressure monitors.This has heightened public attention to heart health and significantly increased demand for heart health solutions.

Hello Heart, the only digital therapeutics company in the United States focused on heart health, announced on May 4 that it had completed a $70 million Series D financing round to support significant growth in customer demand.Over the past few months, the number of employer clients served by the company has doubled,Member Customer Base Reaches Millions, demonstrating exceptionally high customer retention rates and long-term engagement among products in the same category.

Hello Heart's Historical Financing Rounds (Data Source: Crunchbase)

The founding of Hello Heart stemmed from the personal needs of its founder and Executive Director, Maayan Cohen.

Maayan graduated from Tel Aviv University, Israel’s largest national comprehensive university, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and a Master’s degree in Business Administration.. When Maayan’s partner, Ziv Meltzer, was diagnosed with a serious cancer condition, she, despite her background in biology, still had to devote considerable time and effort to reviewing and studying laboratory reports and medical records. This made Maayan realize thatOrdinary patients may be more troubled by a lack of tools to understand and improve their health status, so she decided to make some changes for this purpose.。

Hello Heart Founder and Executive Director Maayan Cohen, Co-founder Ziv Meltzer

Consequently, Maayan resigned from his former company and joined forces with Ziv to build a team. After extensive research and discussion, the team ultimately focused its R&D efforts on heart disease—the leading cause of death according to CDC statistics from 1999 to 2018.In 2013, Hello Heart, a digital platform designed to help individuals understand their health status and cultivate healthy lifestyle habits, was officially established in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States.

Hello Heart’s product portfolio primarily includes a Bluetooth blood pressure monitor and a dedicated fully digital program.

Hello Heart Bluetooth Blood Pressure Monitor and App

Register with Hello Heart to receive a complimentary Bluetooth blood pressure monitor developed in-house by the company.The blood pressure monitor can, after each measurement,Automatically send result data to the smartphone app via Bluetooth., users can view blood pressure readings and the health status reflected by the data on this program.

Neither using a blood pressure monitor nor an app requires a complex learning process.After properly wearing the blood pressure monitor, simply press the single button on the device to take a blood pressure measurement. Your personal blood pressure data will be automatically transmitted from the monitor to your mobile phone. By using the camera function to photograph laboratory test results and medical examination reports, the app can automatically store and analyze the data. Manual data entry is also supported.The user-friendly operation is highly accessible to the elderly, a population at high risk for hypertension.In addition to recording blood pressure changes, the app also supports the entry of blood glucose levels, exercise logs, and medication schedules, and performs statistical analysis on these data.

Hello Heart Program User Interface

Hello Heart's backend system operates 24/7, providing users with health analysis and assessments for data uploaded at any time.When the system detects that data has reached abnormal levels or undergone significant changes, the program will automatically display a notification advising the user to contact their physician.Users can directly call their primary care physician (PCP) through the Hello Heart program to promptly discuss medication or treatment plans.

However, according to statistics from the American Medical Association, 25% of Americans do not have a primary care physician (PCP), and the shortage of PCPs forces patients to wait days or even months for an appointment.To ensure this population receives timely medical care, Hello Heart has partnered with CVS Health, the largest retail healthcare provider in the United States.Users prompted by Hello Heart to seek medical care,You can immediately schedule an appointment at one of the 1,200+ MinuteClinic locations affiliated with CVS Pharmacy., enabling a more convenient and rapid experience for medical advice and medication adjustments.

Book a MinuteClinic appointment directly through the app to access consultation services.

In 2020, Hello Heart joined CVS Health’s Health Point Solutions Management Plan, dedicated to further enhancing the integration of digital health, telemedicine, and in-person care to deliver higher-impact health solutions for users.

In a peer-reviewed study published in JAMA Network Open in 2021, researchers from UCSF and Hello Heart followed 28,189 Hello Heart members over three years to assess how use of the Hello Heart app affects patients with hypertension.Two weeks after enrollment, patients with high-normal blood pressure, Stage 1 hypertension, and Stage 2 hypertension all exhibited significant reductions in blood pressure, with mean systolic blood pressure decreases of 6.3 mmHg, 7.9 mmHg, and 12.9 mmHg, respectively. After one year, 86% of patients with Stage 2 hypertension achieved reduced blood pressure, with mean reductions of 19.2 mmHg in systolic blood pressure and 9.6 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure. After three years, patients with Stage 2 hypertension showed mean reductions of 20.9 mmHg in systolic blood pressure and 11.6 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure.The trial results fully demonstrate the efficacy of Hello Heart in lowering blood pressure, with greater user engagement over time leading to more effective blood pressure reduction.

Blood Pressure Reduction Over Time with Hello Heart, Stratified by Initial Blood Pressure Category

Hello Heart's Bluetooth Blood Pressure Monitor Has Received FDA Approval, the application’s protection of private data also strictly complies with HIPAA regulations. Meanwhile, the company is a member of the American Heart Association’s Innovator Network and was recognized as the most innovative digital health startup in 2021.

Hello Heart sells its products through its own sales team while also relying on channel partners and distributors. When selling to self-insured employers, channel collaborations with Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and health plans are critical, as these channels can significantly shorten the sales cycle by simplifying billing and contracting processes.

The United States has a well-developed commercial insurance market, with 90% of companies providing health insurance to their employees (employers cover 80% of the premium costs, while employees pay the remaining 20%). Employees with chronic conditions are a “key focus” for insurers. In response, digital chronic disease management companies in the country have developed a series of B2B2C solutions. Hello Heart was recognized by UCSF in 2019 as one of the best employer health and prevention solutions. However, the primary reason attracting employers to partner with it is the cost savings on expensive medical procedures. An independent analysis commissioned by Hello Heart, based on employer claims data from 2017 to 2020, found that compared to non-users,Hello Heart users saved an average of $1,865 in medical costs per year, primarily due to reduced spending on surgeries, invasive procedures, and imaging services. Meanwhile, this user group saw increased expenditures on primary care visits, attributed to the app’s encouragement of participation in preventive health programs.

Regarding the next steps in the development plan,Hello Heart is preparing to deepen the use cases of its artificial intelligence (AI) engine to help manage heart health.includingEnhanced Lifestyle Digital Coach Module, additionallyAdd Comprehensive Cardiac Health Features: Advanced medication tracking, cholesterol monitoring, and a digital coach for hyperlipidemia.

As the pandemic becomes normalized,Global Digital Chronic Disease Management Sector Sees New Financing Peak in 2021, capital activity has surpassed previous years. According to statistics from VBInsight, the industrial think tank of VCBeat, there are now over 300 companies worldwide with recorded financing rounds whose core business is digital chronic disease management. Comprehensive chronic disease management platforms that originated from diabetes care are demonstrating increasingly prominent leader effects in niche segments such as cardiovascular disease and obesity.

Global & China Digital Chronic Disease Management Companies: Funding Rounds (2015-2021) (Data Source: VCBeat Database)

Diabetes, characterized by a large patient population, numerous complications (involving the management of multiple parameters such as body weight, blood glucose, and blood pressure), and complex care protocols, has become a key entry point for many chronic disease management companies. Nowadays,The obesity and hypertension management sectors, which are strongly associated with diabetes, have also exhibited a "winner-takes-all" effect.. Compared to the management of cardiovascular diseases in the United States,China has more medical device or health management companies related to this disease., such as Standley, Ruiguang Kangtai, Maidong Technology, Ance Health, and 37 Health.

"Amid the backdrop of epidemic prevention and control, chronic disease management has accelerated its shift online."Collecting data from users and ultimately selling the processed data back to them” service logic continues to be implemented by chronic disease management companies, with smart hardware and artificial intelligence driving the continuous upgrading of this model and gradually completing commercial validation.

WithInternet Healthcare Is Included in Medical Insurance, digital chronic disease management has always faced“The Payment Dilemma of ‘High Acclaim but Low Adoption’ Is Finally Beginning to Ease”, the business layout of joint hospital initiatives (such as building tiered diagnosis and treatment platforms, and chronic disease management platforms for conditions like diabetes) has promising market prospects.

Driven by technological implementation and favorable policies, China’s digital chronic disease management industry is advancing from its initial phase of traffic competition to a stage of industrial expansion.In the future, expanding into payment services, pharmaceutical e-commerce, and hospital connectivity will remain key strategies for optimizing business layout.