April 26, 2010 – A spatio-temporal evaluation of electrocardiogram (ECG) data may help with better identification of heart attacks in patients presenting with chest pain. Current methods are often not sufficient and heart damage can be present even if ECG and blood test results are unremarkable.
A new ECG technology was introduced in Europe this week at the annual conference of the German Cardiac Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kardiologie - DGK) in Mannheim. The Cardiologic Explorer device can help identify heart disease with a high degree of certainty. It uses a spatio-temporal evaluation, cardiogoniometry (CGM), with five electrodes in an orthogonal system orientated along the axis of the heart. Without stress to the patient, the data is recorded in 12 seconds and is evaluated automatically.
In an initial study commissioned by the manufacturer Enverdis, the method showed a very high rate of accuracy. In eight German centers, more than 200 individuals with chest pain were examined. All had an unremarkable ECGs. For final clarification of the diagnosis, each patient underwent a cath lab angiogram. The CGM was able to determine those individuals who had heart damage. The conclusion was that the CGM represents a readily available, additional procedure in the early diagnostics of acute chest pain and heart attacks.
Every day in Germany about 10,000 people with acute chest pain are admitted to hospitals, and in about 8 percent a heart attack diagnosis is confirmed.
For more information: www.enverdis.com