查看文章

Coronary heart disease (CHD) such as ischemic heart disease is the most common cause of sudden death in many countries including USA and Australia (Roberts, 2006). Its main manifestations consist of Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI, or heart attack) and angina. Stroke (or cerebrovascular disease) is Australia’s second biggest killer after CHD as well as the leading cause of long term disability in adults (Access Economics Pty Limited, 2005). Heart failure and stroke cause a big burden on society due to their high costs of care, lower quality of life and premature death. Among Australians having a heart attack, about 25% die within an hour of their first-ever symptoms and over 40% will be dead within a year (Access Economics Pty Limited, 2005). So, for the 40% who would generally be dead in one year, prognostic telemonitoring can be a life saver. More than half of the 8000 home care agencies in US are currently using some forms of telemonitoring (Roberts, 2006). Only in US, sales of services and devices associated with telemonitoring are projected to rise from $461 million in 2005 to over $2.5 billion in 2010 (Roberts, 2006). Comparing with monitoring at hospital premises, home based telemonitoring not only provides great financial advantage but also gives patients freedom of staying home and living a normal life with their family. Moreover, rural hospitals with limited healthcare resources also benefit from telemonitoring service if those hospitals are connected with major advanced hospitals in metropolitan areas. The Electrocardiograph (ECG) is the electric signal generated by the heart activities. ECG is of significant diagnostic value to …