Contact: Beth Casteel, bcasteel@acc.org, 202-375-6275

WASHINGTON (Nov. 10, 2014) — The American College of Cardiology, which has been developing clinical practice guidelines in partnership with the American Heart Association for more than three decades, has launched a new Guideline Clinical App to serve as the mobile home for all ACC/AHA guideline content and related tools. 

The initial version of the new American College of Cardiology Guideline Clinical App includes three of the most recently updated practice guidelines and is available for free on iTunes and GooglePlay. Additional guidelines and features will be added over time. 

ACC Heart Information and Technology Committee Member John J. Ryan, MD, FACC, said the app is more than a reposting of the full guideline text. The app includes a collection of interactive tools such as dosing calculators, scoring tools, and algorithms that will be useful to clinicians implementing the guidelines. For each guideline, the app also includes an executive summary and key takeaway points.

“The app is designed to provide easy access to guideline content for all clinicians caring for patients with cardiovascular disease,” Ryan said. “It gives clinicians the opportunity to bookmark information they use the most, to add their own notes and to email information from a mobile device. “ 

This first release of the app includes content and tools from the following three guidelines:

• Management of Heart Failure,  
• Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk, and 
• Treatment of Blood Cholesterol. 

In December, content for two additional guidelines—treatment of valvular heart disease and atrial fibrillation—will be added.  Content for more guidelines will be released on an ongoing basis.  The ACC will actively gather user feedback and experiences to determine new and better ways to deliver guideline content to clinicians through the app.

The app is intended for any clinician treating patients with cardiovascular disease, whether in cardiology, primary care, or other specialties across all care settings.  Patients may also use the app when referred to it by their clinician.

“ACC/AHA guidelines have provided a foundation for transforming cardiovascular care since the 1980s,” said ACC President Patrick T. O’Gara, MD, FACC.  “The ACC provides free access to guidelines in many forms, and over the years has developed a variety of tools to make guidelines accessible to clinicians. The ACC Guideline Clinical App is part of a broader guideline modernization project, which is exploring new writing formats to make the guidelines more easily searchable and to facilitate more frequent updates.”

The American College of Cardiology is a 47,000-member medical society that is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more information, visit acc.org.

< Back to Listings