Common questions about choosing a doctor

Caution is advised when atrial fibrillation is suspected. If left untreated, atrial fibrillation increases the risk of stroke. However, your risk of stroke can be almost normalized by drug therapy, which usually consists of taking anticoagulants. To do this, diagnostics must first be initiated.

You have the choice of having the diagnosis performed by a 14-day ECG at a local cardiologist’s office, or having the 14-day ECG sent to your home with the assistance of a telecardiologist. Following the examination, you will receive a doctor’s letter with therapy recommendations and then start the therapy with your usual family doctor or specialist.

Preventicus Heartbeats is designed to screen for cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation and does not represent a diagnosis. Abnormal results with the Preventicus Heartbeats app must be confirmed by an ECG with a cardiologist in order to make a diagnosis. The app in no way replaces a visit to the doctor, but it can be used to support your diagnosis.

Follow the steps above to access the report on your confirmed atrial fibrillation suspicion:

1. Go to the home page of the Preventicus Heartbeats app.
2. At the very bottom, you will see a box labeled „My Results“. Click on it. 
3. You are now in the overview of your measurement results. In the upper area you can switch from „My Reports“ to „Telecare Reports“. Select „Telecare Reports“ to get to your physician rated reports. 
4. You will now see all reports that have been physician rated. Click to select a report to read it in full. The last report with a red folder icon contains the confirmed atrial fibrillation suspicion.

Our cardiologists support your family doctor in the diagnosis to find the appropriate therapy for you. For your general practitioner or specialist, the diagnostic options are usually limited. Often, the 24-h ECGs used in routine examinations do not lead to a clear result. Only one in five patients with occasional atrial fibrillation are detected in this way. A cardiologist in our program can record an ECG over 14 days, making sporadic episodes of atrial fibrillation more likely to be „caught“ than a 24-hour ECG. In addition, you have the chance to schedule an appointment within 14 days and avoid long waiting times, significantly reducing your risk of stroke in a timely manner.   

Following the diagnosis by a cardiologist in the program, you will receive a doctor’s letter and a therapy recommendation, which will take you back to your family doctor or specialist for treatment. Therefore, just think of our cardiologist as a necessary stopover to make the best possible diagnosis.

No, a referral from your primary care physician is not necessary, since as an insured person you are free to choose your specialist.

ECG stands for electrocardiogram and refers to a method of examination used to measure heart activity. It is necessary to accurately detect the occurrence of irregularities in the heart rhythm.

What is the difference with the app?

Finding abnormalities in the heart rhythm through our app is an uncomplicated and independent way to make a premature tentative diagnosis. For a complete and prompt treatment of your suspected atrial fibrillation, the diagnosis should then be made by means of an ECG. This is the only way to make a definitive diagnosis.

Why should I choose a 14-day ECG?

The program’s 14-day ECG can record cardiac activity over a period of up to 14 days. This makes sporadic episodes of atrial fibrillation much more likely to be „caught“ than with a 24-hour ECG, which you usually get from your primary care physician or cardiologist. In most cases, however, enough meaningful information is available after just a few days, so the duration of wear can be shortened.

The small ECG device does not require any cables and is therefore much more comfortable to wear on the chest than conventional 24-hour ECGs.

How is the data evaluated?

You choose in the app whether you want to attach the ECG together with a cardiologist on site, or whether the ECG is sent to your home and you want to be instructed by the telecardiologist by telephone.

In both cases, the doctor already has your measurement results from the app, so he can begin the examination using the 14-day ECG in a targeted manner. While you are wearing the 14-day ECG, all abnormal measurements are transmitted to the (tele-) cardiologist. If there is enough meaningful data, or the 14 days are up, the doctor will finish the examination and make a final diagnosis based on the ECG data.

Please note that the 14-day ECG with the assistance of a (tele-) cardiologist is in addition to the regular care provided by your primary care physician or specialist. After the diagnosis incl. therapy recommendation, all further treatments take place as usual with your general practitioner or specialist.

If atrial fibrillation is suspected, the next step is diagnosis by means of a 14-day ECG. You choose in the app whether you want to attach the ECG together with a cardiologist on site, or whether the ECG is sent to your home and you want to be instructed by telephone by the telecardiologist.

Go to the home page of the Preventicus Heartbeats app. Here there is a large red box that says „Confirmed Suspicion! Here’s what to do next.“ Clicking on this will take you to the information page about the next steps and clicking on „next“ will take you directly to the 14-day ECG selection. You can choose between having an ECG done by a cardiologist on site and having the ECG sent to your home, including telephone support from a telecardiologist. Select your preferred variant and follow the further steps.

You can, of course, continue to keep the appointment you have already made with your general practitioner or specialist if you feel uncertain. However, to take advantage of all the benefits of the screening program, we recommend that you also make an appointment with one of our cardiologists. He or she can record an ECG over 14 days and is thus more likely to „catch“ sporadic episodes of atrial fibrillation than a 24-hour ECG, which you usually receive from your primary care physician.

The telecardiologist is a cardiologist in the traditional sense. The only difference is the way of communication. Whereas you see a normal cardiologist in person, all discussions and measures with the telecardiologist take place by telephone. This avoids long journeys or physical contact.

We are constantly working to increase awareness of our screening program among specialists and primary care physicians. Nevertheless, it is always possible that a physician is not yet familiar with our program and the Heartbeats app.

If you have already been notified of a suspected atrial fibrillation through the app, the next step is to seek further clarification from a cardiologist in the program. This person can provide you with appropriate care through specialized diagnostic technology. Following the diagnosis by our cardiologist, you will receive a doctor’s letter and a therapy recommendation, which will take you back to your primary care physician or specialist for treatment. Therefore, just think of our cardiologist as a necessary stopover to make the best possible diagnosis.

We do everything we can to make sure that you can reach someone at the numbers provided. However, it can always happen that you cannot answer the phone for a short time. We therefore ask you to remain calm and try again at a later time. Please also note the respective call times in the cardiologist’s contact area. 

If you do not reach anyone at the given number after several attempts, please contact our support at: +49 (0) 3641 559 845 1

As soon as you have a medically confirmed suspicion of atrial fibrillation, you have the option of selecting a cardiologist from our program.

You can find out whether your own cardiologist is included by entering the address or zip code of your cardiologist in the cardiologist search. If this appears in the overview, it is part of the program. If your cardiologist is not listed, he is not part of the program. 

You will reach the cardiologist selection only after a confirmed suspicion of atrial fibrillation. Then you can find the list at the following locations:

1. Go to the home page of the Preventicus Heartbeats app. Here you will find a large, red field with the label „Clarify suspicion; select cardiologist“. Clicking on this will take you directly to the cardiologist selection screen. Follow the next steps.
2. Go to the home page of the Preventicus Heartbeats app. At the very bottom, you will see a box labeled „My Results.“ Click on it. At the bottom of the screen, you will find a blue box labeled „Clarify Suspicion Now.“ Click on this and an information window will appear and clicking on „Select Cardiologist“ will take you to the cardiologist selection screen.

Yes, in the preventive care program, the health insurance company covers all costs.

Atrial fibrillation occurs only occasionally and usually without noticeable symptoms. Therefore, if you have one or more green readings after a red reading, this does not give the all-clear. After your red measurement is confirmed as suspected atrial fibrillation, you should make an appointment with one of our cardiologists for clarification.

Specialized diagnostics by a participating cardiologist are part of the screening program and ensure full care for your suspected atrial fibrillation. A cardiologist in our program can record an ECG over 14 days, making sporadic episodes of atrial fibrillation more likely to be „caught“ than a 24-hour ECG you typically receive from your primary care physician. 

For you, the program’s cardiologist may be a new doctor, but he is already very familiar with your case: as soon as you come to the consultation, he has your measurement results, so he can specifically follow up on the suspected diagnosis. He will first provide you with a 14-day ECG, which continuously measures your heart rhythm to diagnose or rule out atrial fibrillation. 

Please note that the program cardiologist’s special diagnostic technique is an additional support to the regular care provided by your primary care physician or specialist. After the therapy recommendation, all further treatment will take place as usual with your primary care physician or specialist. 

If you are unable to find a program cardiologist in the immediate vicinity, you can also entrust yourself to the participating telecardiologist. You will then receive the 14-day ECG by mail, with detailed instructions and telephone support. Consultation, diagnosis and therapy recommendation will take place in a telephone interview.

If you cannot find one of our cardiologists in the immediate vicinity, or if you want to avoid personal contact, you can also entrust yourself to one of the participating telecardiologists. With a telecardiologist, all conversations take place by telephone. He is always listed in the cardiologist selection directory. 

You will then receive the 14-day ECG by mail, with detailed instructions and telephone support. Discussions with the cardiologist, as well as diagnosis and therapy recommendation, also take place by telephone. 

Following the examination, you will receive a doctor’s letter including therapy recommendation for discussion with your general practitioner or specialist by mail to your home. 

As in any medical practice, medical confidentiality also applies to the telecardiologist. All patient data is treated as strictly confidential. The tele-consultation is not recorded.

After confirmation of an abnormal measurement, you may have medical questions about your confirmed telecare report. In this case, you can discuss them with a medical staff member at Ulm Heart Hospital.

Here you have the choice between a direct call via our contact page, or a request for a callback. 

Included in the scope of the screening program is the receipt of a confirmed report from Telecare. It is not possible to purchase another evaluation from Telecare during the program.

If you are unable to send in another report, it is because you already have a confirmed suspicion of atrial fibrillation. Please note that even a single confirmed suspicion should be taken seriously and you should now start treatment by a 14-day ECG in the app. You can read how this works under „What to do when I receive the message about a suspected atrial fibrillation“.