Implantable cardioverter defibrillators and devices for cardiac resynchronization therapy: what perspective for patients’ apps combined with remote monitoring?

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Remote monitoring (RM) of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) allows rapid detection of clinical and electrical events. Recently, several smartphone applications have been developed with the aim of improving patient compliance and better interpreting and integrating data deriving from remote control for the management of heart failure (HF).

Areas covered

Studies investigating the role of CIEDs’ RM in HF patients to predict and early treat acute decompensation. The importance of new technologies and applications developed to provide crucial information to clinicians, to better manage HF patients.

Expert opinion

New medical technologies and smartphone applications for CIEDs’ RM were developed to help clinicians in the management of CIED carriers. Indeed, the accessibility of technological devices (e.g. smartphones) and the improvements in medical technology provide the opportunity to optimize HF patients’ monitoring by the transmission of device-related data, and with direct involvement of patients themselves. Thanks to these advancements, physicians have the possibility to recognize worsening signs of HF and promptly optimize treatments to potentially avoid hospitalization. The great value of this approach is its potential of reducing scheduled in-office visits or unnecessary medical contacts and optimizing healthcare resources management.

KEYWORDS:

• CIED remote monitoring
• remote monitoring technology
• heart failure risk score
• smartphone apps for telemonitoring
• heart failure remote monitoring

Article highlights

• Remote monitoring (RM) of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) allows rapid detection of clinical and electrical events.

• Use of the device RM may facilitate the clinicians’ work, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic that required and promoted a completely different healthcare assessment.

• Multiparametric algorithms of device diagnostic data have been developed to identify heart failure (HF) high-risk CIED carriers.

• Smartphone applications for CIED RM have been developed with the aim of improving patient compliance.

• Some smartphone applications can replace the conventional remote control, while others complement the traditional RM systems by adding new clinical information to the multiparametric analysis of the devices.

Declaration of interest

G Boriani has received speaker fees from Medtronic, Boston, Boeringer, Ingelheim and Bayer. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.