Minimization of the Wilson’s Central Terminal voltage potential via a genetic algorithm

Objective

The Wilson Central Terminal (WCT) is an artificially constructed reference for surface electrocardiography, which is assumed to be near zero and steady during the cardiac cycle; namely it is the simple average of the three recorded limbs (right arm, left arm and left leg) composing the Einthoven triangle and considered to be electrically equidistant from the electrical center of the heart. This assumption has been challenged and disproved in 1954 with an experiment designed just to measure and minimize WCT. Minimization was attempted varying in real time the weight resistors connected to the limbs. Unfortunately, the experiment required a very cumbersome setup and showed that WCT amplitude could not be universally minimized, in other words, the weight resistors change for each person. Taking advantage of modern computation techniques as well as of a special ECG device that aside of the standard 12-lead Electrocardiogram (ECG) can measure WCT components, we propose a software minimization (genetic algorithm) method using data recorded from 72 volunteers.

Result

We show that while the WCT presents average amplitude relative to lead II of 58.85% (standard deviation of 30.84%), our minimization method yields an amplitude as small as 7.45% of lead II (standard deviation of 9.04%).

     

Virtual reality 3D echocardiography in the assessment of tricuspid valve function after surgical closure of ventricular septal defect

Background

Chronic right ventricular apical pacing may have detrimental effect on left ventricular function and may promote to heart failure in adult patients with left ventricular dysfunction.

Methods

A group of 99 pediatric patients with previously implanted pacemaker was studied retrospectively. Forty-three patients (21 males) had isolated congenital complete or advanced atrioventricular block. The remaining 56 patients (34 males) had pacing indication in the presence of structural heart disease. Thirty-two of them (21 males) had isolated structural heart disease and the remaining 24 (13 males) had complex congenital heart disease. Patients were followed up for an average of 53 ± 41.4 months with 12-lead electrocardiogram and transthoracic echocardiography. Left ventricular shortening fraction was used as a marker of ventricular function. QRS duration was assessed using leads V₅ or II on standard 12-lead electrocardiogram.

Results

Left ventricular shortening fraction did not change significantly after pacemaker implantation compared to preimplant values overall and in subgroups. In patients with complex congenital heart malformations shortening fraction decreased significantly during the follow up period. (0.45 ± 0.07 vs 0.35 ± 0.06, p = 0.015). The correlation between the change in left ventricular shortening fraction and the mean increase of paced QRS duration was not significant. Six patients developed dilated cardiomyopathy, which was diagnosed 2 months to 9 years after pacemaker implantation.

Conclusion

Chronic right ventricular pacing in pediatric patients with or without structural heart disease does not necessarily result in decline of left ventricular function. In patients with complex congenital heart malformations left ventricular shortening fraction shows significant decrease.     

Arrhythmic Heartbeat Classification Using 2D Convolutional Neural Networks

BackgroundElectrocardiogram (ECG) is a method of recording the electrical activity of the heart and it provides a diagnostic means for heart-related diseases. Arrhythmia is any irregularity of the heartbeat that causes an abnormality in the heart rhythm. Early detection of arrhythmia has great importance to prevent many diseases. Manual analysis of ECG recordings is not practical for quickly identifying arrhythmias that may cause sudden deaths. Hence, many studies have been presented to develop computer-aided-diagnosis (CAD) systems to automatically identify arrhythmias.MethodsThis paper proposes a novel deep learning approach to identify arrhythmias in ECG signals. The proposed approach identifies arrhythmia classes using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) trained by two-dimensional (2D) ECG beat images. Firstly, ECG signals, which consist of 5 different arrhythmias, are segmented into heartbeats which are transformed into 2D grayscale images. Afterward, the images are used as input for training a new CNN architecture to classify heartbeats.ResultsThe experimental results show that the classification performance of the proposed approach reaches an overall accuracy of 99.7%, sensitivity of 99.7%, and specificity of 99.22% in the classification of five different ECG arrhythmias. Further, the proposed CNN architecture is compared to other popular CNN architectures such as LeNet and ResNet-50 to evaluate the performance of the study.ConclusionsTest results demonstrate that the deep network trained by ECG images provides outstanding classification performance of arrhythmic ECG signals and outperforms similar network architectures. Moreover, the proposed method has lower computational costs compared to existing methods and is more suitable for mobile device-based diagnosis systems as it does not involve any complex preprocessing process. Hence, the proposed approach provides a simple and robust automatic cardiac arrhythmia detection scheme for the classification of ECG arrhythmias.     

Development of SVM based classification techniques for the delineation of wave components in 12-lead electrocardiogram

The automatic detection of electrocardiogram (ECG) waves namely P, QRS and T-wave is important to cardiac disease diagnosis. This paper presents an application of support vector machine (SVM) as a classifier for the delineation of ECG wave components in the 12-lead ECG signal. Digital filtering techniques are used to remove power line interference and baseline wander present in the ECG signal. Gradient of the filtered ECG signal is used as a feature for the detection of QRS-complexes, P- and T-waves. The performance of the algorithm is validated using original 12-lead ECG recordings from the standard CSE ECG database. Significant detection rate is achieved. The percentage of false positive and false negative detection is low. The method successfully detects all kind of morphologies of QRS-complexes, P- and T-waves. The onsets and offsets of the detected QRS-complexes, P- and T-waves are found to be within the tolerance limits given in CSE library.     

Small interfering RNA targeting NF-κB attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in rats

Background

Veterinary cardiology, especially electrocardiography, has shown major advancements for all animal species. Consequently, the number of ovine species used as experimental animals has increased to date. Few studies have been published on ovine systematic electrocardiography, particularly with respect to lamb physiology and neonatology. This study aimed to standardize the values of normal waves, complexes, and intervals of the electrocardiogram (ECG) in clinically Bergamasca healthy neonatal lambs, used as experimental animals. Serial computerized electrocardiography was performed in 10 male and 12 female neonates on the 1st, 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and 35th days of age. The following parameters were analyzed: heart rate and rhythm, duration and amplitude of waves, duration of intervals, and heart electrical axis.

Results

During the first 35 days of life, (1) the sinusal heart rhythm was predominant, (2) there was a progressive decrease in the heart rate and R and T wave amplitude, and (3) a progressive increase in the PR, QT, and RR intervals. Finally, we confirmed that various components of neonatal evolution were more discernible in the augmented unipolar leads (aVF), which we recommend should be preferentially used in future studies. No significant statistical alterations were observed between males and females in relation to the analyzed parameters.

Conclusions

The information assimilated in this study is anticipated to enhance the diagnosis of multiple congenital heart defects in Bergamasca lambs and could be implemented in studies that use ovine species as experimental models.

     

先天性心脏病患儿术后急性肾损伤的影响因素及尿NGAL、KIM-1的诊断价值分析

摘要 目的：探讨影响先天性心脏病患儿术后急性肾损伤（AKI）的影响因素及尿中性粒细胞明胶酶相关脂质运载蛋白（NGAL）、肾损伤分子1（KIM-1）的诊断价值。方法：选择2018年1月至2019年12月我院心胸外科收治的60例先天性心脏病术后并发AKI患儿（AKI组）和同期收治的172例先天性心脏病术后未发生AKI患儿（NAKI组）作为研究对象。收集患儿临床基线资料,检测尿NGAL、KIM-1水平,采用Logistic回归分析先天性心脏病患儿术后发生AKI的影响因素,受试者工作特征曲线（ROC）分析尿NGAL、KIM-1诊断先天性心脏病患儿术后发生AKI的价值。结果：AKI组年龄、体重低于NAKI组（P＜0.05）,手术时间、心肺转流（CPB）时间、主动脉阻断（ACT）时间、机械通气时间、重症监护室（ICU）住院时间长于NAKI组（P＜0.05）,术后平均动脉压（MAP）、尿素氮（BUN）、血肌酐（Scr）、NGAL、KIM-1高于NAKI组（P＜0.05）。Logistic回归分析结果显示低龄、低体重、CPB时间长、高NGAL、KIM-1水平是先天性心脏病患儿术后发生AKI的危险因素（P＜0.05）。ROC分析显示尿NGAL、KIM-1诊断先天性心脏病患儿术后发生AKI的灵敏度分别为81.67%,83.33%,特异度分别为84.30%,87.79%。结论：低龄、低体重、CPB时间长、高NGAL、KIM-1水平是先天性心脏病患儿术后发生AKI的危险因素,尿NGAL、KIM-1诊断先天性心脏病术后AKI具有较高价值。     

Matrix metalloproteinases as candidate biomarkers in adults with congenital heart disease

Context Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are associated with diastolic dysfunction and heart failure in acquired heart disease.

Objective To investigate the role of MMPs as novel biomarkers in clinically stable adults with congenital heart disease.

Methods We measured serum MMP-2, -3, -9 and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 in 425 patients and analysed the association with cardiac function and exercise capacity.

Results MMP-2 was significantly associated with exercise capacity, ventilatory efficiency and left ventricular deceleration time, independently of age, sex, body surface area and NT-proBNP.

Conclusion MMP-2 may provide new information in the clinical evaluation of adults with congenital heart disease.     

The Effect of Aging on the Specialized Conducting System: A Telemetry ECG Study in Rats over a 6 Month Period

Advanced age alone appears to be a risk factor for increased susceptibility to cardiac arrhythmias. We previously observed in the aged rat heart that sinus rhythm ventricular activation is delayed and characterized by abnormal epicardial patterns although conduction velocity is normal. While these findings relate to an advanced stage of aging, it is not yet known when and how ventricular electrical impairment originates and which is the underlying substrate. To address these points, we performed continuous telemetry ECG recordings in freely moving rats over a six-month period to monitor ECG waveform changes, heart rate variability and the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias. At the end of the study, we performed in-vivo multiple lead epicardial recordings and histopathology of cardiac tissue. We found that the duration of ECG waves and intervals gradually increased and heart rate variability gradually decreased with age. Moreover, the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias gradually increased, with atrial arrhythmias exceeding ventricular arrhythmias. Epicardial multiple lead recordings confirmed abnormalities in ventricular activation patterns, likely attributable to distal conducting system dysfunctions. Microscopic analysis of aged heart specimens revealed multifocal connective tissue deposition and perinuclear myocytolysis in the atria. Our results demonstrate that aging gradually modifies the terminal part of the specialized cardiac conducting system, creating a substrate for increased arrhythmogenesis. These findings may open new therapeutic options in the management of cardiac arrhythmias in the elderly population.     

基于多尺度快速样本熵与随机森林的心电图分析

目的:探讨基于多尺度快速样本熵与随机森林的心电图分析方法对常见心律失常(房性早搏、室性早搏)的自动诊断的可行性和有效性。方法:利用不同心律失常疾病的心电信号存在复杂性差异的特点,通过多尺度熵计算心电信号在不同尺度下的样本熵值以组成特征向量;利用kd树提高多尺度熵的计算效率,增强算法的实时性。利用训练样本的特征向量构建随机森林分类器,再根据众多决策树的分类结果结合投票原则确定测试样本心律失常疾病的类型。结果:本文提出的心电图分析方法能够有效地识别正常心律、房性早搏(APB)及室性早搏(VPB),平均识别准确率达到91.60%。结论:本文提出的心电图分析方法对常见心律失常(APB,VPB)具有较高的识别准确率及临床实用价值。     

A New Algorithm to Diagnose Atrial Ectopic Origin from Multi Lead ECG Systems - Insights from 3D Virtual Human Atria and Torso

Rapid atrial arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation (AF) predispose to ventricular arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death and stroke. Identifying the origin of atrial ectopic activity from the electrocardiogram (ECG) can help to diagnose the early onset of AF in a cost-effective manner. The complex and rapid atrial electrical activity during AF makes it difficult to obtain detailed information on atrial activation using the standard 12-lead ECG alone. Compared to conventional 12-lead ECG, more detailed ECG lead configurations may provide further information about spatio-temporal dynamics of the body surface potential (BSP) during atrial excitation. We apply a recently developed 3D human atrial model to simulate electrical activity during normal sinus rhythm and ectopic pacing. The atrial model is placed into a newly developed torso model which considers the presence of the lungs, liver and spinal cord. A boundary element method is used to compute the BSP resulting from atrial excitation. Elements of the torso mesh corresponding to the locations of the placement of the electrodes in the standard 12-lead and a more detailed 64-lead ECG configuration were selected. The ectopic focal activity was simulated at various origins across all the different regions of the atria. Simulated BSP maps during normal atrial excitation (i.e. sinoatrial node excitation) were compared to those observed experimentally (obtained from the 64-lead ECG system), showing a strong agreement between the evolution in time of the simulated and experimental data in the P-wave morphology of the ECG and dipole evolution. An algorithm to obtain the location of the stimulus from a 64-lead ECG system was developed. The algorithm presented had a success rate of 93%, meaning that it correctly identified the origin of atrial focus in 75/80 simulations, and involved a general approach relevant to any multi-lead ECG system. This represents a significant improvement over previously developed algorithms.     

Interpretations of and management actions following electrocardiograms in symptomatic patients in primary care: a retrospective dossier study

Background

The electrocardiogram (ECG) has become a popular tool in primary care. The clinical value of the ECG depends on the appropriateness of the indication and the interpretation skills of the general practitioner (GP).

Objectives

To describe the use of electrocardiography in primary care and to assess the performance of GPs in interpreting ECGs and making subsequent management decisions.

Methods

Three hundred ECGs, recorded during daily practice in symptomatic patients by 14 GPs who regularly perform electrocardiography, were selected. Corresponding data of the indications, interpretations and subsequent management actions were extracted from the associated medical records. A panel consisting of an expert GP and a cardiologist reviewed the ECGs and specified their agreement with the findings and actions of the study GPs.

Results

The most common indications were suspicion of a rhythm abnormality (43.7%), ischaemic heart disease (42.7%) and patient reassurance (14.3%). The study GPs interpreted 53.3% of the ECGs as showing no (new or acute) abnormality, whereas supraventricular rhythm disorders (12.3%), conduction disorders (7.7%) and repolarisation disorders (7.0%) were the most frequently reported pathological findings. Overall, the expert panel disagreed with the interpretations of the study GPs in 16.2% of cases, and with the GPs’ management actions in 11.7%. Learning goals for GPs performing electrocardiography could be formulated for acute coronary syndrome, rhythm disorders, pulmonary embolism, reassurance, left ventricular hypertrophy and premature ventricular complexes.

Conclusion

GPs who feel competent in electrocardiography performed well in the opinion of the expert panel. We formulated various learning objectives for GPs performing electrocardiography.

     

产前超声诊断结果与胎儿先天性心脏病结局的相关性及危险因素分析

摘要 目的：对比先天性心脏病胎儿与正常胎儿的产前超声差异，分析产前超声诊断结果与胎儿先天性心脏病的相关性及危险因素。方法：选取我院2018年12月到2020年12月共收治的80例有先天性心脏病胎儿的孕妇作为研究对象，将其分为观察组，另选取健康胎儿的80例孕妇进行对比研究，将其分为对照组，对所有孕妇进行彩色多普勒超声进行诊断，分析观察组超声诊断与最终结果，对比两组胎儿的超声诊断情况，并对孕期胎儿先天性心脏病的风险因素进行单因素与多因素logistic回归分析。结果：通过尸检和出生后随访最终确定结果与超声诊断结果对比无显著差异（P＞0.05），超声诊断中有3例漏诊；由于卵圆孔直径大于6 mm、心内膜垫缺损（Endocardial cushion defect, ECD）和单心房胎儿没有正常的四腔心结构，因此无法进行腔室内径的测量，对其他观察组患儿进行测量之后发现，观察组患儿左心发育不全综合征（hypoplastic left heart syndrome, HLHS）的左心房与左心室、法洛氏四联症（Tetralogy of Fallot, TOF）右心室、室间隔缺损（Ventricular Septal Defect, VSD）右心室内径明显低于对照组（P＜0.05）；对可能造成胎儿先天性心脏病的高风险因素进行分析发现，两组孕妇的孕期早期服药、高龄产妇以及家族心脏病史情况对比差异显著，观察组明显更高（P＜0.05）；对所有因素进行赋值，其中"是"或"有"为1，"否"或"无"为0。通过logistic回归分析发现只有孕期早期服药和家族心脏病史为胎儿先天性心脏病的独立危险因素（P＜0.05）。结论：对孕妇进行综合产前超声诊断胎儿先天性心脏病的准确率较高，与最终结果无明显区别；虽然高龄孕妇与胎儿先天性心脏病具有一定关系，但是只有孕期早期服药和家族心脏病史是胎儿先天性心脏病的独立危险因素。     

心电向量图对慢性肺源性心脏病右心室肥厚与扩张的诊断研究

目的:探讨心电向量图(VCG)对慢性肺源性心脏病早期右心室肥厚与扩张的诊断价值。方法:选择我院2015年1月-2016年1月门诊及住院慢性肺源性心脏病患者100例,所有患者进行心电向量图和常规心电图(ECG)检查,比较两种方法对慢性肺心病右心室肥厚与扩张的检出率,以及和超声心动图诊断的符合率,另外对比两种检测方法的检测差异,并进行统计分析。结果:与超声结果对比,ECG的检出率为43.00%(73/100)明显低于VCG的91.00%(91/100),且差异具有统计学意义(X2=36.326,P=0.000);VCG在诊断慢性肺源性心脏病右心室肥厚与扩张方面的敏感性明显高于ECG(P0.05),而两种检测方法的特异度、假阳性预测值及假阴性预测值之间的差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:以超声心动图为标准,VCG对于慢性肺源性心脏病早期右心室肥厚与扩张的检出率较高,且具有较高的敏感性,值得在临床上广泛推广应用。     

Qualitative and quantitative description of myocardial ischemia by means of magnetocardiography.

In the framework of this study quantitative parameters are presented which, derived from magnetocardiographic maps, aid in making a conclusion about ischemia in the myocardium. The analysis is based on the examination of 86 patients with unstable angina, of which 53 exhibited myocardial ischemia with high probability (Group I: angiographically proven stenosis of at least 50% in a coronary artery of first or second order and positive troponin), while in the 33 other patients myocardial ischemia could be ruled out with high probability (Group II: angiographically clean coronary bed and normal troponin values). The negative predictive value (the probability that there is no myocardial ischemia when the magnetocardiogram (MCG) is negative) is 96.2%; the positive predictive value (the probability that there is actually coronary heart disease when the magnetocardiogram is positive) is 91.2%. A 12-lead ECG taken at the same time as the MCG achieved a positive predictive value of 92.8%, but a negative predictive value of 53.4%. Consequently, the boundary values of the parameters selected lead to a markedly distinct separation between patients with myocardial ischemia from those without. For ruling out coronary heart disease in patients with unstable angina the MCG is superior to 12-lead ECG.     

Bench and mathematical modeling of the effects of breathing a helium/oxygen mixture on expiratory time constants in the presence of heterogeneous airway obstructions

Background

Vectorcardiogram (VCG) signals monitor both spatial and temporal cardiac electrical activities along three orthogonal planes of the body. However, the absence of spatiotemporal resolution in conventional VCG representations is a major impediment for medical interpretation and clinical usage of VCG. This is especially so because time-domain features of 12-lead ECG, instead of both spatial and temporal characteristics of VCG, are widely used for the automatic assessment of cardiac pathological patterns.

Materials and methods

We present a novel representation approach that captures critical spatiotemporal heart dynamics by displaying the real time motion of VCG cardiac vectors in a 3D space. Such a dynamic display can also be realized with only one lead ECG signal (e.g., ambulatory ECG) through an alternative lag-reconstructed ECG representation from nonlinear dynamics principles. Furthermore, the trajectories are color coded with additional dynamical properties of space-time VCG signals, e.g., the curvature, speed, octant and phase angles to enhance the information visibility.

Results

In this investigation, spatiotemporal VCG signal representation is used to characterize various spatiotemporal pathological patterns for healthy control (HC), myocardial infarction (MI), atrial fibrillation (AF) and bundle branch block (BBB). The proposed color coding scheme revealed that the spatial locations of the peak of T waves are in the Octant 6 for the majority (i.e., 74 out of 80) of healthy recordings in the PhysioNet PTB database. In contrast, the peak of T waves from 31.79% (117/368) of MI subjects are found to remain in Octant 6 and the rest (68.21%) spread over all other octants. The spatiotemporal VCG signal representation is shown to capture the same important heart characteristics as the 12-lead ECG plots and more.

Conclusions

Spatiotemporal VCG signal representation is shown to facilitate the characterization of space-time cardiac pathological patterns and enhance the automatic assessment of cardiovascular diseases.     

常规心电图与冠脉造影术在冠心病诊断中的效果分析

目的:探讨常规心电图(ECG)与冠脉造影术(CAG)在冠心病诊断中的效果。方法:选取100例冠心病患者,入院后先行CAG,后经ECG检查,通过CAG检查的冠脉狭窄程度、冠脉病变支数与ECG检查结果的对比两种检查方法对冠心病诊断结果,评价ECG与CAG在冠心病诊断中的临床价值。结果:CAG诊断冠心病的阳性诊断率82.0%,ECG诊断冠心病阳性诊断率为79.0%,两组阳性诊断率相比,无统计学差异(P0.05)。ECG对三组冠心病患者的灵敏度分别为65.0%,92.6%,96.9%,冠脉狭窄程度50%-70%时,灵敏度低于其他两组(P0.05)。经CAG诊断为冠脉单支病变、双支病变、三支病变患者,采用ECG诊断时,组间灵敏度相比,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:ECG多支病变冠心病患者容易出现漏诊、误诊情况,CAG与ECG诊断灵敏度相当,可直观反映冠脉病变情况。     

Incidence and Predictors of New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Septic Shock Patients in a Medical ICU: Data from 7-Day Holter ECG Monitoring

PurposeWe investigated incidence, risk factors for new-onset atrial fibrillation (NAF), and prognostic impact during septic shock in medical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients.MethodsProspective, observational study in a university hospital. Consecutive patients from 03/2011 to 05/2013 with septic shock were eligible. Exclusion criteria were age <18 years, history of AF, transfer with prior septic shock. Included patients were equipped with long-duration (7 days) Holter ECG monitoring. NAF was defined as an AF episode lasting >30 seconds. Patient characteristics, infection criteria, cardiovascular parameters, severity of illness, support therapies were recorded.ResultsAmong 66 patients, 29(44%) developed NAF; 10 (34%) would not have been diagnosed without Holter ECG monitoring. NAF patients were older, with more markers of heart failure (troponin and NT-pro-BNP), lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), longer QRS duration and more nonsustained supra ventricular arrhythmias (<30s) on day 1 than patients who maintained sinus rhythm. By multivariate analysis, age (OR: 1.06; p = 0.01) and LVEF<45% (OR: 13.01, p = 0.03) were associated with NAF. NAF did not predict 28 or 90 day mortality.ConclusionsNAF is common, especially in older patients, and is associated with low ejection fraction. We did not find NAF to be independently associated with higher mortality.     

Multi-centre randomised controlled trial of a smart phone-based event recorder alongside standard care versus standard care for patients presenting to the Emergency Department with palpitations and pre-syncope - the IPED (Investigation of Palpitations in the ED) study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background

Palpitations and pre-syncope are together responsible for 300,000 annual Emergency Department (ED) attendances in the United Kingdom (UK). Diagnosis of the underlying rhythm is difficult as many patients are fully recovered on ED arrival; and examination and presenting electrocardiogram (ECG) are commonly normal. The only way to establish the underlying heart rhythm is to capture an ECG during symptoms. Recent technology advances have led to several novel ECG monitoring devices appearing on the market. This trial aims to compare the symptomatic rhythm detection rate at 90?days of one such smart phone-based event recorder (AliveCor Heart Monitor and AliveECG) with standard care for participants presenting to the ED with palpitations and pre-syncope and no obvious cause in the ED.

Methods/Design

This is a multi-centre hospital ED / Acute Medical Unit (AMU) open label, randomised controlled trial. Participants will be recruited in 10 tertiary and district general hospitals in the UK. Participants aged ≥?16?years presenting with an episode of palpitations or pre-syncope with no obvious cause and whose underlying ECG rhythm during these episodes remains undiagnosed after clinical assessment will be included. Participants will be randomised to either: (1) the intervention arm, standard care plus the use of a smart phone-based event recorder; or (2) the control arm, standard care. Primary endpoint will be symptomatic rhythm detection rate at 90?days. A number of secondary clinical, process and cost-effectiveness endpoints will be collected and analysed. Analysis will be on an intention-to-treat basis.

Discussion

The Investigation of Palpitations in the ED (IPED) study aims to recruit 242 participants across 10 hospital sites. It will be the first study to investigate the ability of a smart phone-based event recorder to detect symptomatic cardiac rhythms compared to standard care for ED patients with palpitations and pre-syncope with no obvious cause in the ED. This smart phone event recorder will allow ED patients who have presented with palpitations or pre-syncope to record their ECG tracing if they have a further episode and may increase the rate of underlying rhythm diagnosis.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02783898. Registered on 26 May 2016.

     

First real-world experience with mobile health telemonitoring in adult patients with congenital heart disease

Background

Arrhythmias and heart failure are common and invalidating sequelae in adult patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Mobile health (m-Health) enables daily monitoring and a timely response that might prevent deterioration. We present an observational prospective registry to evaluate feasibility of an m‑Health telemonitoring program for managing arrhythmia, heart failure and blood pressure in symptomatic adults with CHD.

Methods

Symptomatic adult patients with CHD are enrolled in an m‑Health telemonitoring program, which evaluates single-lead ECG, blood pressure and weight measurements. In case of symptoms extra measurements could be performed. Data are collected by mobile apps, matched with individualised thresholds. Patients are contacted if thresholds were exceeded or if arrhythmias were found, for treatment adjustments or reassurance. Data on emergency care utilisation, hospitalisation and patient-reported outcome measures are used to assess quality of life and self-management.

Results

129 symptomatic CHD patients were invited to participate, 55 participated. Reasons for refusing consent included too time consuming to participate in research (30) and to monitor vital signs (14). At baseline 22 patients were in New York Heart Association class ≥ II heart failure, 43 patients had palpitations or documented arrhythmias, and 8 had hypertension. Mean follow-up was 3.0 months, one patient dropped out, and adherence was 97%.

Conclusion

The first results indicate that this program is feasible with high adherence.