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Hydra, a Computer-Based Platform for Aiding Clinicians in Cardiovascular Analysis and Diagnosis
Published on: September 26, 2018
A new Web-based medical tool for assessment and prevention of comprehensive cardiovascular risk
Daniele Franchi1, Davide Cini, Giorgio Iervasi
1Istituto di Fisiologia Clinica, CNR, Pisa, Italy;
Insights
A new web-based program streamlines cardiovascular disease risk assessment by calculating absolute risk and collecting patient data efficiently. This tool supports clinical decisions and aids in managing patients at risk of heart disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Informatics
- Public Health
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of mortality globally.
- Emerging risk factors like mental stress, diet, and inactivity contribute to cardiovascular disease.
- Current preventive strategies rely on absolute risk assessment, but patient data collection is challenging in general practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a multipurpose computer-based program for cardiovascular risk assessment.
- To create a web-based tool for structured prospective data collection.
- To assist healthcare providers in decision-making for at-risk patients based on international guidelines.
Main Methods:
- A web-based program integrated with a medical server for data storage and software execution.
- Utilizes patient data to evaluate absolute and relative cardiovascular risk factors.
- Monitors critical parameters, personalizes patient goals, and generates automated medical reports.
Main Results:
- Pilot study involved 294 patients; data collection time reduced from 13 minutes at first consultation to 8 minutes at subsequent ones.
- The program identified 2 or more primary risk factors outside guideline indications in 48.2% of cases.
- Provided specific clinical suggestions to normalize altered parameters.
Conclusions:
- The proposed web-based system offers a feasible and flexible approach for managing patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.
- This tool can also support epidemiological research in cardiovascular health.
- Facilitates efficient data collection and risk assessment in clinical settings.
Background:
Multifactor cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death; besides well-known cardiovascular risk factors, several emerging factors such as mental stress, diet type, and physical inactivity, have been associated to cardiovascular disease. To date, preventive strategies are based on the concept of absolute risk calculated by different algorithms and scoring systems. However, in general practice the patient's data collection represents a critical issue.
Design:
A new multipurpose computer-based program has been developed in order to:1) easily calculate and compare the absolute cardiovascular risk by the Framingham, Procam, and Progetto Cuore algorithms; 2) to design a web-based computerized tool for prospective collection of structured data; 3) to support the doctor in the decision-making process for patients at risk according to recent international guidelines.
Methods:
During a medical consultation the doctor utilizes a common computer connected by Internet to a medical server where all the patient's data and software reside. The program evaluates absolute and relative cardiovascular risk factors, personalized patient's goals, and multiparametric trends, monitors critical parameter values, and generates an automated medical report.
Results:
In a pilot study on 294 patients (47% males; mean age 60 ± 12 years [±SD]) the global time to collect data at first consultation was 13 ± 11 minutes which declined to 8 ± 7 minutes at the subsequent consultation. In 48.2% of cases the program revealed 2 or more primary risk factor parameters outside guideline indications and gave specific clinical suggestions to return altered parameters to target values.
Conclusion:
The web-based system proposed here may represent a feasible and flexible tool for clinical management of patients at risk of cardiovascular disease and for epidemiological research.
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