Cardiac technology startup names cardiologist Peter Fitzgerald its chief medical officer
HeartBeam, a California-based healthcare technology company focused on improving heart attack detection, has announced that renowned cardiologist Peter J. Fitzgerald, MD, PhD, will now serve as its chief medical officer.
Fitzgerald, who currently serves as the director of the Center for Cardiovascular Technology and Cardiovascular Core Analysis Laboratory at Stanford University Medical School, is a veteran interventional cardiologist and healthcare entrepreneur. In addition to participating in more than 175 clinical trials and publishing more than 650 manuscripts and chapters over the course of his career, he has also been closely involved with the development of 24 different medical device companies. Fitzgerald is also a longtime consultant to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a staple at large industry conferences all over the world.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Fitzgerald, one of the world’s preeminent opinion leaders in cardiology and digital health, join the HeartBeam leadership team and play a major role in defining best paths to adoption, clinical strategies, and partnerships to advance our products in the market,” Branislav Vajdic, PhD, founder and CEO of HeartBeam, said in a statement. “In addition to his cardiovascular clinical and research expertise, Dr. Fitzgerald has a rich history of developing successful collaborations with partners in the industry and has developed deep connections across the investment and medical communities.”
“HeartBeam’s focus on bringing novel diagnostic tools to cardiac patients, especially those with a high risk for a heart attack, could have a significant, positive impact on medical outcomes and quality of life for patients while potentially saving healthcare dollars,” Fitzgerald added. “I look forward to supporting the planned advancement of the company’s rich product pipeline to deliver comprehensive cardiac care for patients anytime, anywhere.”
HeartBeam is currently developing two solutions designed to improve heart attack detection, HeartBeam AIMI and HeartBeam AIMIGo. Neither solution has been cleared by the FDA at this time.
HeartBeam's personal, portable, and easy-to-use heart attack detection system in development is the size of a credit card. The device is placed on the chest for a 30 second signal recording and uses a synthesized 12-lead ECG overlaid with baseline ECG and offers a diagnostic suggestion. It interfaces with a smartphone app so data can be uploaded for telemedicine use and the data can be viewed by a doctor through a physician portal on the system.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.