Telemedicine for Cardiovascular Care?

An article regarding the future of cardiovascular care, including telemedicine, was written by Ahmed M. Soliman. Telemedicine therapies, which range from video or phone assistance to wearable or implanted device remote monitoring, can be used to constantly track patients with cardiovascular disease.

When this article was written in 2020, telemedicine was at the forefront of healthcare delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing patients and doctors with first-hand experience with the technology. Ahmed M. Soliman practices medicine at Houston's DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and has received several honors and awards. Numerous cardiovascular disorders, including arrhythmia detection, heart failure, hypertension, coronary artery disease, as well as myocardial infarction, may now be more easily managed with the use of telemedicine. Monitoring individuals with connected device weight scales that transmit data through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, or other means can allow health care professionals to adjust diuretic doses.

The term "telemedicine" refers to all of the methods in which you and your physician can communicate virtually via technology. If your physician permits it, what you need for employing telemedicine is a computer, smartphone, or good internet connection.

The latter have the benefit of having a positive impact on the burden of CVD, including a considerable reduction in blood pressure, disease progression, and medical costs.  Telemedicine also can detect symptoms and weight gain in congestive heart failure. Monitoring individuals with connected device weight scales that transmit data through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, or other means can allow health care professionals to adjust diuretic doses. 

Beyond external monitoring of symptoms and vital signs, implantable devices such as those that monitor intracardiac device impedance or pulmonary artery pressure may have a role in telemedicine. The market for these direct-to-patient technologies will likely continue to grow as will their reliability. However, the implementation of these data within the constraints of the average clinical visit time requires further refinements to processing and electronic medical record infrastructure. Last, medication adherence through smart pill dispensers may improve symptoms and outcomes by ensuring regimens are followed as prescribed.(MK)