Purpose: The purpose of ACC's CardioSmart Heart Explorer App is to bolster the modern physician-patient relationship at the point of care. The app provides physicians with high-resolution cardiovascular graphics, images and animations to aid in the discussion of various cardiovascular diseases and treatments with patients. The app allows also users to scroll through, rotate around, and zoom in and out of nine different layers of cardiac anatomy. Users can freely orient a 3D beating heart into different angles to appreciate specific views of the coronary anatomy, electrical pathway and other anatomical and physiological properties of the heart. The media gallery includes a variety of different video animations and interactive displays of common pathologies and their treatments. For example, you can show your patient how a TAVR valve is delivered via a percutaneous transcatheter technique in an interactive animation. The app is also useful for physicians teaching medical students and residents different aspects of the cardiac anatomy and common pathologies. Future versions will allow for users to customize the media gallery list and download extra media content.

Cost: Free

Size: 94 MB on Android and 251.2MB on iOS

Compatibility: The app is available from the iTunes or Google Play app stores. If downloading from iTunes, the app requires iOS 10.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. If downloading from Google Play, the app requires an Android 4.3 and up.

Target Audience: The intended target audience for this app is all health care providers who take care of patients with cardiovascular disease. Those who also teach students in the medical field may also benefit from this app as it provides excellent teaching tools.

Neat Feature: In the Draw Interactive view of the heart, physicians can mark areas of the coronary anatomy with grafts, stents and occlusions. They can also draw the catheter approach to help explain to patients what their specific anatomy is like and how they plan to revascularize. Additionally, users can export out into email images and notes directly from the app, which help patients remember the details discussed during the encounter.

Comparable Apps: There are no other ACC apps in the iTunes or Google Play stores comparable to this app.

Visit ACC.org/Apps to download this app and learn more about ACC's full suite of clinical mobile apps.

This article was authored by Fabio V. Lima, MD, MPH, Fellow in Training (FIT) at Brown University in Providence, RI.