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New BrunswickNewsSaint John & SouthThe IssuesHealth care
More than 40 heart failure patients so far linked with new app through Horizon
Published Jul 13, 2025 • Last updated 6 days ago • 3 minute read
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Robert Conrad, of Kings County, speaks with Margaret Melanson, president and CEO of Horizon Health Network. Diagnosed with congestive heart failure, Conrad has been using the SeamlessMD app through Horizon to stay on top of his health. Photo by Barbara Simpson/Brunswick NewsArticle content
Robert Conrad has seen firsthand how a pocket-sized resource can make a big difference in living with a chronic condition.
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The 72-year-old Kings County man was diagnosed last year with congestive heart failure – a condition he’s learning to manage through medications and lifestyle changes after a stint in the Saint John Regional Hospital earlier this year.
Once he was released from hospital and returned home, Conrad started to experience extreme dizziness and sleepiness from low blood pressure – a common side effect of the medications he’s on.
With a few clicks on his cellphone, Conrad was able to log into SeamlessMD, an app that assesses patients’ symptoms and lets them know when they need to seek medical attention based on a traffic light-coded system.
“I called the heart function clinic when I was in the yellow category,” Conrad said. “The receptionist connected me with my nurse that was assigned to me… and she called back within 30 minutes.
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“Within three hours, (the doctor) had adjusted my medications.”
Conrad recently shared his gratitude for the cardiac care he’s received through Horizon Health Network. He appeared at a recent Horizon board meeting to talk about the impact doctors and SeamlessMD have had on improving his health.
“I’ve had a really good experience with the app,” he said. “Since then, my blood pressure has been stabilized, my heart rate is stabilized, my breathing is much better than it has been.”
Earlier this year, Horizon made the SeamlessMD app available to heart failure patients who are receiving care through one of its heart function clinics.
The app provides reminders, education, symptom-tracking surveys, and videos designed to help patients follow their care plans.
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Horizon first started using the Canadian-made application back in 2023. Cardiac surgery patients were the first group to be connected to the app before hip and knee replacement patients were onboarded last year.
To date, 42 heart failure patients have been connected to the SeamlessMD app, with four already having completed their programs, according to Bridget Stack, clinical executive director for Horizon’s cardiac care program.
Cardiac surgical unit operating near capacity
About 1,500 patients receive treatment through Horizon’s heart function clinics across the province, but that figure just scratches the surface of demand for cardiac services.
The cardiac surgery unit is currently operating at about 96 per cent capacity, according to Dr. Chris White, chief of cardiac surgery for the New Brunswick Heart Centre.
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“We’re functioning as close to 100 per cent capacity as is possible,” White said at the recent Horizon board meeting, adding that a future hybrid operating suite will “no doubt help us address the waitlist.”
The Holt government recently greenlit a hybrid operating room – the first of its kind for the province – for Fredericton’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital, but the Liberals have also indicated that Saint John can expect to see a hybrid OR in the future too.
Although his condition has improved, Conrad is now awaiting tests ahead of potential surgery. He told Horizon board members that he started having health issues at the age of 50, but he didn’t have a family physician at the time – a circumstance that has fortunately changed for him.
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For cardiac surgery patients without a primary care provider, Stack said the centre has created a dedicated clinic to assist them.
Close to 1,000 cardiac surgeries were performed in 2023 at the New Brunswick Heart Centre, according to the latest available data from Horizon. More than 100 patients from P.E.I. on average undergo cardiac surgery at the New Brunswick centre on an annual basis.
“Overall, despite having the same two operating rooms since the inception of the heart centre, we’ve grown our cardiac surgery volume by about 20 per cent over the last number of years,” White said.
“That is really due to the hard work and dedication of the people that work in the program.”
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