This paper investigates the design, prototyping and experimental validation of a low-cost portable electrocardiograph made of standard electronic components. Indeed, the AD8232 and Arduino Nano board were used for the signal acquisition and digitization respectively. The electrocardiogram (ECG) signals obtained were visualized on a PC or an Android phone screen. The present portable electrocardiograph was used for the ECG signal acquisition of two anonymous patients (a healthy patient and pathological patient) in a Cameroonian hospital. The results were compared with the synthetic ECG and the one of the MIT database. They were in a good agreement and were also validated by a cardiologist as a promising solution for developing countries.