A Mobile ECG System for the Evaluation of Cardiovascular Risk

PROBLEM Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the number one cause of death globally. The World Health Organization estimated that 80% of the deaths caused by CVD take place in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). OBJECTIVE This paper describes the development of a mobile Electrocardiogram (ECG) system designed to support the evaluation of cardiovascular risk. METHODS The system was developed using low-cost technology, implemented under the open-source platform SANA and adding an ECG signal to the process of cardiovascular risk evaluation. RESULTS Main functionalities of the system include a visualization and analysis of the ECG signal in the Android mobile device, calculation of four cardiovascular risk scales, standard ECG transmission using the European Data Format (EDF), and integration into an Electronic Health Record system. Ten experts recommended 28 different application scenarios for the system, and evaluated its performance (100%) and relevance of the functionalities (89%). CONCLUSIONS The paper demonstrates the feasibility to develop a low-cost, open source, mobile ECG System able to support the evaluation of cardiovascular risk and potentially useful for other health promotion and prevention programs and scenarios, especially in LMIC.