Comparison

ESC Pocket Guidelines vs CathPal

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ESC Pocket Guidelines

Access a comprehensive library of the latest cardiovascular disease guidelines and consensus statements from the European Society of Cardiology. Features include interactive algorithms, full-text search, bookmarking, note-taking, and content sharing capabilities for quick reference and study.

Highlights
  • Latest ESC Guidelines (2023-2025)
  • Interactive algorithms
  • Full-text search
  • Bookmarking and notes
  • Content sharing
  • Printable pages
Features
Read full description

The ESC Pocket Guidelines app now contains the following ESC Pocket Guidelines: ESC Guidelines and documents published in 2025 Cardiovascular disease and pregnancy (Guidelines) Mental health and cardiovascular disease (Consensus Statement) Myocarditis and pericarditis (Guidelines) Valvular heart disease (Joint Guidelines with EACTS) Focused update of the 2019 dyslipidaemias guidelines ESC Guidelines published in 2024 Elevated blood pressure and hypertension Atrial fibrillation Chronic coronary syndromes Peripheral arterial and aortic diseases ESC Guidelines and documents published in 2023 Acute coronary syndromes Cardiomyopathies Cardiovascular disease in diabetes Endocarditis Focused update of the 2021 heart failure guidelines The ESC Pocket Guidelines app also contains interactive tools in the form of algorithms. Additional features: Perform „full text", „index" or „filtered" searches through the entire downloaded content of the app, bookmarks and the notes. Bookmark specific sections or create a personal note and access bookmarks and notes from the „Library“ section. Share links to specific areas of the app via communication channels, e.g. AirDrop, Mail, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and many others. Print pages. Please follow the link below to register for a new MyESC account: https://escol.escardio.org/MyESC/login.aspx

About

CathPal

This medical calculator assists healthcare professionals with complex hemodynamic calculations for cardiac catheterization. It provides instant results for cardiac output, vascular resistance, valve areas, and shunt quantification, with an EMR-ready report. Formulas are based on peer-reviewed literature and professional guidelines.

Highlights
  • Hemodynamic calculations
  • Valve area computation
  • Shunt quantification
  • EMR-ready evaluation report
  • Offline functionality
  • Quality checks for data entry
  • Dark mode support
Features
Read full description

CathPal is a comprehensive hemodynamic calculator for cardiac catheterization. Built by a cardiologist, for cardiologists. IMPORTANT — MEDICAL DISCLAIMER CathPal is an educational and decision-support tool intended for use by licensed healthcare professionals trained in cardiac hemodynamics. It is not a medical device. It does not diagnose disease, prescribe treatment, or replace clinical judgment. All calculated values must be interpreted in the context of the individual patient by a qualified physician. No clinical decision should be made based on the output of this app alone. If you are not a healthcare professional, do not use this app to make decisions about your own health or the health of another person. Always consult a qualified physician in addition to using this app and before making any medical decision. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of information obtained from this app. In an emergency, call your local emergency number immediately. All formulas, reference ranges, and thresholds in CathPal are drawn from peer-reviewed literature and professional society guidelines. Full citations — including the 2022 ESC/ERS Pulmonary Hypertension Guidelines, the 2020 ACC/AHA Valvular Heart Disease Guideline, and the original Gorlin, Hakki, LaFarge, Flamm, PAPi (Korabathina), CPO (Fincke), ARI (Sinning), and SCAI cardiogenic shock publications — are listed inside the app under "Disclaimer & References" and alongside each formula in the Equations view. Enter your catheterization data and instantly compute Fick and thermodilution cardiac output, pulmonary and systemic vascular resistance, RV performance indices, Gorlin and Hakki valve areas, and complete shunt quantification — all with an EMR-ready evaluation report you can copy and paste directly into the chart. HEMODYNAMIC CALCULATIONS • Fick cardiac output with LaFarge VO₂ estimation • Thermodilution CO with multi-run averaging • PVR, SVR, PVRI, SVRI (Wood units and dyn·s·cm⁻⁵) • PAPi, RVSWI, CPO, CPI — shock and RV performance indices • Pulmonary hypertension classification (2022 ESC/ERS criteria) • Cardiac index, stroke volume, stroke volume index VALVE AREAS • Gorlin equation for aortic (AVA) and mitral (MVA) valve areas • Hakki simplified formula (CO/√gradient) • AFib mode with per-beat averaging (up to 10 beats) • Automatic SEP and DFP calculation from ejection/filling times SHUNT QUANTIFICATION • Full oximetry run with step-up detection and localization • Qp/Qs ratio with absolute flow calculations • Shunt-adjusted PVR and SVR • Eisenmenger physiology warning SMART FEATURES • Auto-tab between pressure fields for rapid data entry • Quality checks flag impossible values and common entry errors • Algorithmic interpretation based on published guidelines • EMR-ready evaluation report with plain text (EHR) toggle • Dark mode support WORKS OFFLINE No account required. No internet needed. No subscription. One-time purchase, works forever.

Screenshots

ESC Pocket Guidelines4 screens
CathPal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ESC Pocket Guidelines at Free against CathPal's $4.99. ESC Pocket Guidelines also leads on ratings volume (841 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). CathPal's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 4 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ESC Pocket Guidelines is free to download; CathPal costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CathPal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ESC Pocket Guidelines has 841 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ESC Pocket Guidelines ships an update every 4 months, CathPal daily. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ESC Pocket Guidelines versus CathPal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterESC Pocket GuidelinesCathPal
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.8 (841 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings841 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB3 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperESC - European Society of CardiologyAnalysta LLC

Customer experience

ESC Pocket Guidelines

All ratings841 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive50.8%
Neutral1.6%
Negative47.5%

CathPal

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

ESC Pocket Guidelines

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • App crashes on iPad and iPhone devices
  • Login authentication failures
  • White blank page display
  • App crashes when opening pathways
  • Guidelines not appearing in downloaded folder
Show 3 more
  • App incompatible with older iOS versions
  • Slow and sluggish performance
  • Full screen not supported on iPad Mini 6

Requested features

5 requests
  • Update to support iPad Mini 6 resolution
  • Include 2023 ESC Congress updates
  • Remove or make sign-in optional
  • Improve font size and design for better readability
  • Add new guidelines (e.g., 2013 stable angina guidelines)

CathPal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

ESC Pocket Guidelines

No in-app purchases

None

CathPal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ESC Pocket Guidelines free?
ESC Pocket Guidelines is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CathPal free?
CathPal costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ESC Pocket Guidelines or CathPal?
CathPal is rated higher. ESC Pocket Guidelines averages 4.8 out of 5 from 841 ratings, while CathPal averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do ESC Pocket Guidelines or CathPal have ads?
Neither ESC Pocket Guidelines nor CathPal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ESC Pocket Guidelines or CathPal?
ESC Pocket Guidelines ships an update every 4 months, and CathPal daily. Most recently, ESC Pocket Guidelines was updated on September 21, 2026 and CathPal on September 18, 2026.

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