Hand held device for automatic cardiac risk and diagnostic assessment

A method of automatically assessing a patient's risk of an acute cardiac event, the method comprising:

• receiving, in a processor, risk assessment information comprising risk factors;
• determining a pre-existing risk score based on the risk assessment information;
• receiving, from a handheld apparatus operated by a patent, a sample electrocardiogram (ECG), and receiving, from the patient, a current symptoms indication, wherein the current symptoms indication includes one or more self-reported patient symptoms;
• determining, in the processor, an ECG risk score from the sample ECG and a baseline ECG, and a chest pain risk score indicating a level of cardiac risk based on the current symptoms indication, and using the ECG risk score, the pre-existing risk score, and the chest pain risk score to determine a post-test risk score, wherein the ECG risk score is classified into a plurality of risk categories based on a comparison of a voltage difference between the sample ECG and the baseline ECG to a plurality of different threshold voltages;
• and
• presenting, to the patient, a diagnostic report and patient action instruction based on the post-test risk score.

An apparatus comprising

• a handheld apparatus comprising one or more electrical leads;
• and
• non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a set of instructions capable of being executed by a processor, a processor configured to execute said instructions in order to:
• receive, in the processor, risk assessment information comprising risk factors from a patient data entry subprocessor;
• generate a pre-existing risk score based on the risk assessment information;
• receive a sample of patient's cardiac signal from a cardiac-signal acquisition subprocessor;
• receive a current symptoms indication from said patient data entry subprocessor, wherein the current symptoms indication include a plurality of self-reported patient symptoms,
• generate a cardiac signals risk score from said sample cardiac signal and from a baseline cardiac signal, wherein the cardiac signal risk score classified into a plurality of risk categories based on a comparison of a voltage difference between said sample cardiac signal and the baseline cardiac signal to a plurality of different threshold voltage, and a chest pain risk score based on the current symptoms indication, wherein the chest pain risk score indicates a level of cardiac risk;
• generate a post-test risk score output based on the cardiac signals risk score, the pre-existing risk score, and the chest pain risk score;
• and
• control an output subprocessor, based on said post-test risk output, said subprocessor configured to report a diagnostic to the patient.