The ESC Working Group on e-Cardiology

The ESC Working Group on e-Cardiology was originally founded in 1996 with an initial focus on promoting and supporting the use of information technology within cardiology. Our main mission is to integrate and promote scientific research and education in the field of e-cardiology. In the Working Group on e-Cardiology, we share a vision that the future of care, research, and education in cardiology will largely be dependent on advances in computational, digital, and mobile technology. The ESC Working Group on e-Cardiology provides a multidisciplinary platform for basic, translational, and clinical scientists who are at the forefront of cardiovascular healthcare innovation by developing and using a wide spectrum of computational, informational, and communication systems. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of this field involving close cooperation between cardiologists and engineers, our working group (WG) traditionally maintained a nucleus with a mixed composition, including a balanced membership of cardiovascular scientists and clinicians with backgrounds in engineering and clinical research. Our WG acts transversally to improve collaboration with other ESC constituent bodies (associations, councils, committees, and WGs) on digital health-related matters and activities by providing scientific background and expertise through its multidisciplinary approach (Figure 1). Nucleus members from left to right (meeting in August 2022 during the ESC congress): Jose Millet, Emanuela Locati, Gabriel Bernardino, Andreu Climent, Polychronis Dilaveris, Ruben Casado Arroyo, Piotr Platonov, Joost Lumens, Federico Guerra, Roderick Treskes, Ines Frederix, Magnus Jensen; video: Julia Ramirez, Nicolas Duchateau, Gianfranco Parati, Matthijs Cluitmans. Our WG provides the optimal infrastructure for scientists and clinicians active in different cardiologic disciplines to interact and transfer knowledge on digital health technologies and applications in different domains. Our WG promotes the adoption of advanced digital technologies in different fields of cardiology with a final goal of improving management and reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases. To fulfil its mission, our WG promotes the development and the integrated application of different computational e-health methodologies such as cardiovascular signal and image processing, artificial intelligence (AI), big data processing, computational modelling and simulation, database management, intra- and inter-hospital communication technology, patient-and-physician empowerment, wearables and mobile systems (m-health), and telecardiology. Every year, our WG proposes scientific programmes to several ESC conferences, like the ESC and European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) congresses, among others. During the years, this WG has been involved in several high-quality symposia, poster sessions, workshops, webinars, and other educational activities. The Working Group on e-Cardiology is closely linked with the Computing in Cardiology (CinC) community which manages the annual CinC meeting. The nucleus of the ESC Working Group on e-Cardiology and the CinC Board both host reciprocating representatives as ex officio members. The publication of position papers and consensus documents, contributions to ESC Guidelines, updates of ESC Textbooks, ESC Core Curriculum, and participation on ESC journal editorial boards are among the most important educational activities of our WG. We as a WG recently published a position paper entitled ‘Accuracy and reliability of electrocardiogram monitoring in the detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) in cryptogenic stroke patients’. It was done in collaboration with the Council on Stroke,1 the EHRA, and the Digital Health Committee (Figure 2). This manuscript recommends a widespread application of different diagnostic methods with the objective of improving patient care and outcomes. Another recent contribution of this WG is entitled ‘Critical appraisal of technologies to assess electrical activity during atrial fibrillation’ from the EHRA and the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on e-Cardiology. It was done in collaboration with Heart Rhythm Society, Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society, Latin American Heart Rhythm Society, and CinC.2 This position paper provides up-to-date knowledge for clinicians, engineers, and researchers in the field of cardiac electrophysiology. It critically describes the basic concepts underlying signal recording and processing technologies applied to AF electro-anatomic mapping in order to explain AF mechanisms and identify target sites for therapy, optimize the use of technologies, and stimulate research closing knowledge gaps in the field. Another important contribution is the recent position paper on the ‘use of commercially available wearable technology for heart rate and activity tracking in primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention.’3 This is a joint collaboration of the EHRA, EAPC, Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professionals, Patient Forum, and the Digital Health Committee. It describes the current applications as well as specific barriers and gaps in knowledge in the field of wearable technologies from ‘gadgetology’ to clinical cardiology. Flowchart of atrial fibrillation detection and summary of automated atrial fibrillation detection methods from electrocardiogram signals. Currently, we have several ongoing position papers involving the use of AI in clinical practice, genetics in cardiovascular disease, digital biomarkers for the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular diseases, as well as on the state of the art regarding cuffless blood presssure devices. We organized several WG talks and webinars on e-cardiology topics to disseminate digital health literacy so as to increase physician and patient engagement through telemedicine and to expand the implementation of advanced digital health technologies in clinical practice. Our last WG talks were ‘Artificial intelligence (AI) for automatic signal and image analysis in population studies: are we there yet’?; ‘Wearable technology in cardiovascular medicine’; and ‘Remote monitoring of cardiac implantable electronic devices’. The WG talks and webinars had very large audiences; the recordings can be still found here. The contribution of our WG is consolidated by our participation in the ESC Congress Scientific Programme, ESC Guidelines, production of scientific documents, as well as participation and endorsement of an external society congress (CinC) via official joint sessions. Our WG also has a special affiliation with the European Heart Journal—Digital Health. In addition to a dedicated LinkedIn group, WG members are regularly updated on WG activities and have reading material recommended to them through the bimonthly ESC WG Newsletter. Open to new membership, our WG invites all students, scientists, engineers, clinicians, and others who are interested in e-cardiology and digital health to apply for membership. We welcome everybody who wishes to join us on our mission within the ESC family to implement the rapidly growing digital transformation in cardiology. Membership is free and can be obtained through our website. As a member, you will receive our bimonthly newsletter which provides regular updates on our WG’s activities as well as recommended readings relevant to our field. We look forward to welcoming you into our community! Nothing to declare.