We all know that a healthy heart is central to overall good health, yet the prevalence of heart conditions in the US continues to increase each year at a staggering rate, leading to millions of lost lives and billions of dollars in healthcare costs.
Hello Heart is on a mission to enable people to be active participants in their own heart health journey by providing the leading digital therapeutics solution for hypertension and cardiovascular disease, empowering users to live happy, heart-healthy lives. It is rare to be able to invest in a company addressing such a large and important opportunity, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to support Maayan Cohen and the entire Hello Heart team on the road ahead.
Here’s why we invested:
Large Market Opportunity
Chronic conditions are the leading cause of death and disability in the US each year and contribute to over 90% of total annual healthcare costs. Hypertension is the most prevalent chronic condition impacting roughly half the US population (~108 million adults). Unfortunately, 3 in 4 adults don’t have their blood pressure under control and are putting themselves at risk of a potential catastrophic event. In total, healthcare costs related to heart conditions contribute to $350 billion per year, dwarfing the frequency and cost of all other diseases in the US. According to The American Heart Association, this number is expected to increase to almost $1 trillion by 2030.
Personalized Software = Best-In-Class Outcomes
Adherence is the #1 predictor of whether someone will improve a chronic condition and digital therapeutics providers are using software to drive outcomes through increased engagement, collaboration, and behavior change. Hello Heart’s software-only solution uses a personalized approach to help members easily understand and improve their heart health, driving a 24 mmHg average improvement in a user’s systolic blood pressure after 12 months. Hello Heart sells its solutions to self-insured employers, an attractive market as employers are continually looking for ways to save money on expensive medical procedures. On average, employers save 34% in healthcare costs per user per year. The company has best-in-class user engagement and its product strength has been demonstrated by multiple peer-reviewed studies by UCLA and Harvard Medical School.
Hello Heart’s Channel Relationships
Hello Heart sells its product through its sales force but also relies on a limited set of channel partners and resellers. Channel partnerships with PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers) and Health Plans are critical when selling to self-insured employers as the channel can help dramatically shorten the sales cycle by simplifying billing and contracting. After a rigorous clinical, data security, and business evaluation, CVS Health added Hello Heart to its prestigious Points Solution Management program. This is a great opportunity given CVS’s massive reach.
Hello Heart is a leading healthcare provider at the intersection of multiple important tailwinds, including personalized digital care and remote patient monitoring. Given the rising cost of healthcare, self-funded employers will continue to be an important channel driving innovation in the segment and we see a huge opportunity ahead for Hello Heart!
The company is hiring aggressively across all teams, so if you are looking to improve millions of lives at a strongly mission-driven company, click here to see open roles. ❤️
Somesh Dash, Parsa Saljoughian, James Black, and Tom Loverro are investors at IVP, a later-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, CA.
1. Gazit T, Gutman M, Beatty AL. Assessment of Hypertension Control Among Adults Participating in a Mobile Technology Blood Pressure Self-management Program. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2127008, https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.27008. Accessed October 19, 2022. (Some study authors are employed by Hello Heart. Because of the observational nature of the study, causal conclusions cannot be made. See additional important study limitations in the publication. This study showed that 108 participants with baseline blood pressure over 140/90 who had been enrolled in the program for 3 years and had application activity during weeks 148-163 were able to reduce their blood pressure by 21 mmHg using the Hello Heart program.) (2) Livongo Health, Inc. Form S-1 Registration Statement. https:/www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1639225/000119312519185159/d731249ds1.htm. Published June 28, 2019. Accessed October 19, 2022. (In a pilot study that lasted six weeks, individuals starting with a blood pressure of greater than 140/90 mmHg, on average, had a 10 mmHG reduction.) NOTE: This comparison is not based on a head-to-head study, and the difference in results may be due in part to different study protocols.
2. Validation Institute. 2021 Validation Report (Valid Through October 2022). https://validationinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Hello_Heart-Savings-2021- Final.pdf. Published October 2021. Accessed October 19, 2022. (This analysis was commissioned by Hello Heart, which provided a summary report of self-fundedemployer client medical claims data for 203 Hello Heart users and 200 non-users from 2017-2020. Findings have not been subjected to peer review.)
.jpg)
