Abstract

Mobile health applications in cardiac care

Author(s): E Honeyman, H Ding, M Varnfield & M Karunanithi

There is mounting pressure on cardiac services to find novel and accessible ways of delivering services due to increasing cardiac disease prevalence and escalating costs. Although cardiology has been one of the leading disciplines in embracing telehealth, normalization of telecardiology services has been slow to develop, with challenges in geographical connectivity, affordability, technology maturity and patient uptake often being cited as causes. The focus has mostly been on teletriage and telemonitoring in long-term care. In-hospital and face-to-face care remains a mainstay of acute cardiac management. The wide adoption of ever-more sophisticated mobile applications (apps) and devices provides mobile health with the opportunity to build on telecardiology’s aims to reduce costs while delivering safe, effective and personalized care at all stages of the patient’s journey.