HeartCheck CardiBeat and SMART Monitoring ECG Triaging to be used in Screening Services for detection of QT Prolongation in Community Pharmacies
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / December 17, 2020 / CardioComm Solutions, Inc. (TSXV:EKG) ("CardioComm" or the "Company"), a global provider of consumer heart monitoring and electrocardiogram ("ECG") device and software solutions, confirms the start of a pharmacy-based ECG monitoring service to screen for prolonged QT interval for the prevention of drug induced sudden cardiac death.
Under the Company's Allied Health Professional Partner Program, the HeartCheck CardiBeat and GEMS Mobile Smartphone app will be used to collect ECGs recorded by patients under the direction of a pharmacist. Recorded ECGs will be passed from the GEMS Mobile app to the Company's SMART Monitoring ECG reading service to be triaged. All findings will be sent directly to the pharmacist and any submitted ECG recordings that show a presence of prolonged QT interval or any other cardiac arrhythmia will be flagged so that the pharmacist may then follow up as needed with the patient's treating physician.
Pharmacists plan to run ECG tests on patients when picking up a prescription. All QT and QTc interval findings will be kept on file with the goal of recording QT measurements for any patient with known cardiac issues and starting any new medication known to influence the QT interval. "As polypharmacy analysis becomes more prevalent in a pharmacist's daily tasks, the use of the HeartCheck CardiBeat device will allow staff to quickly measure the patient's QT/QTc and make a clinical judgment as per the safety of the prescriptions being dispensed", states pharmacist K. Manoukian.
QT interval prolongation is a recognized adverse drug reaction and risk factor for torsades de pointes (TdP), a fatal arrhythmia that can result in sudden cardiac death. While rare, the severity of TdP makes QT prolongation a serious concern when prescribing medications.
Pharmacists have a legal and professional responsibility to evaluate/mitigate medication adverse and serious adverse event risk factors and are the final decision makers in dispensing or not dispensing medications. The surface ECG is the only way to confirm or rule out the presence of a prolonged QT interval. The HeartCheck CardiBeat provides a useful tool as QT prolongation can now be easily, quickly and cost effectively obtained in community pharmacies and be compared to well established normal duration ranges. Without an ECG sudden cardiac death due to a prolonged QT interval may be the first and only evidence of the disease. Prior to the release of CardioComm's ECG screening technologies, QT interval prolongation ECG screening was not available outside of the hospital setting.
Listings of medications known to cause TdP through acquired QT syndrome prolongation in healthy people (crediblemeds.org, sads.org.uk and heartcentre.ca) contain more than 100 common medications, many of which are dispensed by pharmacists. These include common antibiotics, medications to treat yeast infections, diuretics, anti-arrhythmia heart medications, and antidepressant and antipsychotic medications. Additionally, COVID-19 infection, a history of cardiac arrest and cardiovascular disease, age and women on heart medications are also known to increase the risk for cause acquired QT interval prolongation.
Through the screening service CardioComm will earn revenue from a per ECG QT interval triaging service fee. With the program now launched in Quebec, the Company will next look to the introduction of the QT interval ECG screening services in pharmacies and physician practices in other provinces.
To learn more about CardioComm's products and for further updates regarding HeartCheck ECG device integrations, please visit the Company's websites at www.cardiocommsolutions.com and www.theheartcheck.com.
About CardioComm Solutions
CardioComm Solutions' patented and proprietary technology is used in products for recording, viewing, analyzing and storing electrocardiograms for diagnosis and management of cardiac patients. Products are sold worldwide through a combination of an external distribution network and a North American-based sales team. CardioComm Solutions has earned the ISO 13485:2016 MDSAP certification, is HIPAA compliant and holds clearances from the European Union (CE Mark), the USA (FDA) and Canada (Health Canada).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Etienne Grima, Chief Executive Officer
1-877-977-9425 x227
egrima@cardiocommsolutions.com
investor.relations@cardiocommsolutions.com
Forward-looking statements
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of CardioComm Solutions and certain of the plans and objectives of CardioComm Solutions with respect to these items. Such statements and information reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and forward-looking information.
In evaluating these statements, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements and forward-looking information contained in this release other than as required by applicable laws, including without limitation, Section 5.8(2) of National Instrument 51-102 (Continuous Disclosure Obligations).
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SOURCE: CardioComm Solutions, Inc.
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