{"id":33413,"date":"2012-12-08T10:58:49","date_gmt":"2012-12-08T15:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/?post_type=voices&#038;p=33413"},"modified":"2012-12-08T10:58:49","modified_gmt":"2012-12-08T15:58:49","slug":"ecg-screening-via-iphone-game-changer-or-just-a-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/2012\/12\/08\/ecg-screening-via-iphone-game-changer-or-just-a-game\/","title":{"rendered":"ECG Screening via iPhone \u2014 Game Changer or Just a Game?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/12\/AliveCorCase3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-33422\" title=\"AliveCorCase\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2012\/12\/AliveCorCase3-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>On my blog, Dr. Wes, I recently <a href=\"http:\/\/drwes.blogspot.com\/2012\/12\/an-inside-look-at-alivecors-iphone-ecg.html\">shared my experiences using AliveCor\u2019s ECG Case for iPhone<\/a>, for which I was a beta-tester. This device\u2019s ease of use will, I think, make it a game changer for physicians and medically savvy patients. I have no commercial interest in AliveCor (frankly, I wish I did), so I share my thoughts with you here just as an honest observer.<\/p>\n<p>Here, in brief, are what I consider to be the strengths and limitations of the device, which has now been approved by the FDA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Strengths<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ease of use (no technician), compelling design, handsome appearance<\/li>\n<li>Real-time recording<\/li>\n<li>Versatility of recording method (grasping electrodes by hand or placement of the device on the skin of the chest)<\/li>\n<li>ECG tracings can be uploaded, sent, and stored in a variety of formats<\/li>\n<li>My fellow physicians see it as a useful complement to the stethoscope<\/li>\n<li>Instant differentiation of atrial fibrillation from premature atrial or ventricular beats (or even from atrial flutter with variable AV conduction)<\/li>\n<li>The device can replicate most limb leads<\/li>\n<li>Patients are transfixed by what the device shows them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Limitations<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Case could be sturdier<\/li>\n<li>Alcohol prep may be needed for reading via placement on the skin<\/li>\n<li>Recordings from the device cannot yet be easily incorporated into an electronic medical record<\/li>\n<li>Single-lead device (multiple ECG\u00a0leads are not\u00a0collected simultaneously), so subtle indicators of a heart attack could be missed<\/li>\n<li>Patient information, including demographics, must be entered manually (the biggest minus, in my opinion)<\/li>\n<li>Ease of use outside a medical setting poses confidentiality challenges<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a member of the CardioExchange community, I am curious to hear your thoughts about how, if at all, this device will change practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thoughts from Dr. Wes about the strengths and limitations of AliveCor&#8217;s ECG Case for iPhone, newly approved by the FDA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1177,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1249],"class_list":["post-33413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-electrophysiology","tag-ecg-screening"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1177"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33413\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/cardioexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}