TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 28, 2012) -CardioComm Solutions, Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EKG) ("CardioComm Solutions" or the "Company") has been contracted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation ("HSF") as the preferred provider to run a electrocardiogram ("ECG") screening program in Canada for the detection of cardiac arrhythmias with specific emphasis on the most difficult to find arrhythmia, Atrial Fibrillation ("AF").
ECGs will be performed on approximately 10,000 people in booths at five events across Canada in 2012. The HeartCheck™ Handheld ECG Monitor, and associated Smart Monitoring Service, will be used as point of care ECG acquisition devices to upload ECG recordings to the Company's C4 ECG centre for analysis. The Atrial Fibrillation booths will be set up at the following events: Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Aug 17 - Sep 3; International Tourism & Travel Show in Montreal, Oct 19 - 21; the Zoomer Show in Toronto, Oct 27 - 28 and Vancouver Nov 17 - 18; and the 50 Plus Living Show, in Calgary, Nov 3 - 4.
HSF will measure ECGs rather than pulse as their screening tool in their AF awareness campaign. ECGs will be analyzed by CardioComm Solutions C4 ECG service and the results utilized by the Centre for Innovation in Complex Care (CICC) to improve the system and process of care for AF. The decision follows a pilot study performed with CardioComm Solutions in March 2012 at a previous HSF event, the results of which will soon be released.
"We're delighted to be partnering with CardioComm Solutions," said Paul Haddad, Manager of Corporate Alliances at Heart and Stroke Foundation. "HeartCheck™ ECG devices will be used by trained volunteers to acquire a single lead, 30 second ECG recording. This is important information for Atrial Fibrillation detection, as ECG's are a more meaningful and accurate reading method of diagnosing arrhythmia than a pulse check. Ultimately our goal is to better inform the public of their risk for AF, which is the cause of an estimated 15 percent of all strokes."
"This is our first large scale use of the HeartCheck™ ECG Monitor as a point of care device for ECG screening in the general public," said Etienne Grima, Chief Executive Officer of CardioComm Solutions. "Our goal is to establish our devices as a preferred tool for cost effective and high volume use in community-based health programs as well as in community outreach and remote medical facilities. The devices are simple to use and remove the need for highly trained and often difficult to find ECG technicians, nurses and doctors. The centralized review of the recorded ECGs will allow efficient medical diagnosis for the presence of arrhythmias and AF specifically in this project."
"The larger impact to the Company is that other organizations focusing on cardiac arrhythmias as a risk factor for stroke or sudden cardiac death have shown interest in utilizing our devices and technology in similar undertakings. Ours is a scalable and globally accessible ECG solution and with our priority to be device agnostic, we will be able to integrate with multiple ECG devices, consumer and prescriptive," added Grima.
"In Ontario alone, approximately 100,000 patients have AF. After age 55, the incidence of AF doubles with each decade of life and can lead to severe and debilitating strokes. In fact, people with AF are at least five times more at risk of having a stroke than those without AF, and twice as likely to die from one. For those who survive the stroke, the disabilities can be significant. AF is currently costing the Ontario health care system approximately $700 million annually," said Dr. Dante Morra, Medical Director, CICC.
CardioComm Solutions will benefit from this initiative in multiple ways. In addition to the co-branding as an HSF partner in the Afib campaign web page www.heartandstroke.ca/bepulseaware, and the HSF annual report, CardioComm Solutions will participate at each of the HSF professional education events (Stroke Collaborative - Oct 2012, Clinical Update - Dec 2012 and Hypertension Collaborative - 2013) and present during the breakfast symposium at the Stroke Collaborative.
Public exposure from the national AF screening initiative, the anticipated scientific publication to follow and the partnership relationship with the HSF and their physician and advocacy group base will add to the credibility of the technologies from CardioComm Solutions in professional circles and will help to make HeartCheck™ a more recognizable name in the consumer and primary prevention markets.
About CardioComm Solutions
CardioComm Solution's patented and proprietary technology is used in products for recording, viewing, analyzing and storing electrocardiograms (ECGs) 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. The company has earned the ISO 13485 certification, is HPB approved, HIPAA compliant, and has received FDA market clearance for its software and HeartCheck™ devices. CardioComm Solutions, Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with offices in Victoria, B.C.
About The Heart and Stroke Foundation
The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a volunteer-based health charity, leads in eliminating heart disease and stroke and reducing their impact through the advancement of research and its application, the promotion of healthy living and advocacy.
www.heartandstroke.ca/chinese
Forward-looking statements
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements 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. By their nature, forward-looking statements 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.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.