Heart Hugger

Name

Heart Hugger

Legal name

General Cardiac Technology, Inc.

Website

https://hearthugger.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Post-Surgical Medical Devices (Sternal Support)

NAICS

Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing (339113)

SIC

Orthopedic, Prosthetic & Surgical Appliances & Supplies (3842)

akta.pro primary industry

Compression Therapy & Lymphedema DME (Garments, Pneumatic Pumps) (HLAHAMAH)

Keywords

• Post-surgical sternal support
• Cardiac surgery recovery devices
• Patient-controlled support harness
• Sternum stabilization device
• Post-operative chest support

Headquarters

HQ city

San Jose

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Medical Device Sales (Heart Hugger): Heart Hugger generates revenue primarily through direct sales of its sternum support harness medical device. The Heart Hugger Sternum Support Harness is sold at $140 per unit with sizing ranging from Small to X-Large. An additional product, the Surgi Support Vest for Women (post-operative bra), is sold at $90 per unit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Heart Hugger manufactures and sells FDA Class I-cleared medical devices for post-cardiac and thoracic surgery sternal support. The core product is the Heart Hugger™ Sternum Support Harness, a patient-operated wearable that provides on-demand uniform chest compression via adjustable handles, sold at $140 per unit. The company also offers the Surgi Support Vest, a post-operative bra for women, sold at $90 per unit and fitted by healthcare professionals.

Product overview

Heart Hugger (General Cardiac Technology, Inc.) offers a focused portfolio of medical devices for post-cardiac surgery recovery. The core offering consists of the Heart Hugger™ Sternum Support Harness ($140) and the Surgi Support Vest for Women ($90)—both FDA-classified Class I medical devices designed to provide sternal stability, wound support, and patient-controlled pain management. The main harness is a wearable vest with adjustable handles that patients can squeeze to create uniform pressure around the rib cage, while the Surgi Support Vest is a specialized post-operative bra for female patients requiring additional chest wall accommodation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Surgi Support Vest: A specialized postoperative bra for women providing chest wall stabilization and support, must be fitted by a healthcare professional.

Products and services

• Heart Hugger™ Sternum Support Harness A patient-operated external sternum support harness that provides wound stability, sternal support, and on-demand pain management for patients recovering from chest surgeries including CABG, heart valve replacement, and thoracic procedures. Features adjustable straps with handles that allow patients to squeeze for uniform pressure around the rib cage. Priced at $140 per unit across sizes Small through X-Large.
• Surgi Support Vest (Post-Op Bra)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over half of patients released by the fifth post-operative day, many by the fourth day, when using Heart Hugger
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Tribute MediaminorOthersTribute Media is a web marketing agency that powers the Heart Hugger website (hearthugger.com). This is a website development and hosting partnership for the company's online presence and e-commerce functionality.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Stryker: Stryker is a global medical device company with a substantial surgical and orthopedic portfolio, including products used in cardiac and thoracic surgery recovery. It is comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping surgical recovery and post-operative product offerings, though at much larger scale and broader scope than Heart Hugger.
• Cardinal Health: Cardinal Health is a Fortune-50 medical products distributor and manufacturer whose catalog includes post-surgical supports, hospital recovery supplies, and D2C medical products. It is comparable as a broad incumbent serving hospitals and home-care patients with overlapping recovery products.
• Baxter International: Baxter (post-Hillrom acquisition) offers a broad portfolio of hospital and post-acute care products including patient handling, recovery supports, and connected care. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in hospital-adjacent recovery products and post-acute home-care equipment.
• Medline Industries: Medline is one of the largest privately held medical supply manufacturers and distributors, with an extensive portfolio including post-surgical supports, binders, and D2C medical products. It overlaps with Heart Hugger in chest binders and recovery wearables but operates across a vastly broader medical-supply catalog.
• McKesson: McKesson is a leading pharmaceutical and medical-surgical distributor that supplies hospitals and home-care patients with DME and recovery products. It is a broad incumbent comparable on the distribution and supply side for medical devices and DME reaching hospitals and home users.

Direct peers

• TIDI Products: TIDI Products (parent of Posey) manufactures patient safety and post-surgical support products including protective garments and clinical wearables used in hospitals and at home. It competes in the same post-operative support/garment niche as Heart Hugger, serving clinicians and patient-direct consumers.
• DeRoyal Industries: DeRoyal Industries manufactures and distributes a wide range of surgical supplies and post-operative support products, including chest binders and recovery garments sold to hospitals and individual patients. It overlaps with Heart Hugger in the post-surgical support/garment category serving cardiothoracic and thoracic surgery patients.
• Aspen Medical Products: Aspen Medical Products designs and sells post-surgical braces, orthoses, and upper-body/torso support devices prescribed by clinicians for spinal, chest, and post-operative recovery. Its product set is directly comparable to Heart Hugger's compression-based, post-surgical support harness category.
• Dale Medical Products: Dale Medical Products manufactures a broad line of post-surgical binders, abdominal and thoracic supports, and other medical-grade wearables sold to hospitals and D2C. It is directly comparable to Heart Hugger as a manufacturer of wearable post-operative support devices for clinical recovery.

Others

• Edwards Lifesciences: Edwards Lifesciences is a leader in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical heart valve therapies, serving the same cardiac patient population but with devices that often obviate the need for a full sternotomy. It is an indirect/adjacent peer — operating in the patient population whose treatment pathway changes the demand for Heart Hugger.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Heart_Hugger
• Facebookfacebook.com/hearthugger
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heart-hugger

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Heart Hugger