CardioComm Solutions has teamed up with CancerCare Manitoba on a pilot study that will let breast cancer patients record ECGs at home, the Toronto-based company announced on October 19, in a program designed to catch a potentially dangerous side effect of some cancer drugs before it becomes an emergency.
Certain cancer medications can prolong the heart's QT/QTc interval, raising the risk of torsades de pointes, a life-threatening abnormal rhythm that can cause dizziness, fainting and, in severe cases, cardiac arrest. During the roughly one-year pilot, patients will use CardioComm's HeartCheck CardiBeat handheld ECG monitor for scheduled home recordings, and take extra readings whenever they feel dizziness, palpitations or faintness.
Recordings travel by Bluetooth from the handheld device to a customized version of CardioComm's GEMS Mobile app built for CancerCare Manitoba, then onto the company's SMART Monitoring ECG platform, which prepares reports and sends them securely to the patient's care team. CardioComm's GEMS Rhythm technology screens the ECGs for suspected QT/QTc prolongation.
The companies say home monitoring should improve patient convenience, reduce hospital visits and support patient safety, letting clinicians act on concerning changes between appointments rather than discovering them at the next scheduled check.
