27/06/2026
Practicing cardiology in Western Visayas has taught me that geography is often part of the disease.
Not every patient can see a cardiologist immediately. Not every hospital has access to echocardiography. For many patients, specialist care means hours of travel, time away from work, and additional expense. By the time some finally reach us, they are already in heart failure.
A few years ago, I started building a digital ECG network to help bridge that gap. The idea was simple: if patients couldn’t always come to the cardiologist, perhaps the ECG could.
Between January and June 2026, our network analyzed 523 ECGs from participating hospitals and clinics across Western Visayas. Thirty-nine percent were identified as abnormal, and AI flagged 11 patients with ECG patterns suggestive of a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40% or less. These patients could then be prioritized for confirmatory echocardiography and further evaluation.
Building this network has changed the way I think about an ECG. It’s no longer just a tracing printed on paper. It’s a source of clinical intelligence that helps us identify high-risk patients earlier and make better decisions for our patients.
