[Telemedicine in pacemaker therapy and follow-up]

Present-day remote systems for cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) provide, in contrast to previous solutions, a broad range of data about the patient and the implanted device ("remote control"). Telemedicine includes remote monitoring as well as remote follow-up: Remote monitoring is the continual interrogation of the device to detect patient- or device-related adverse events earlier than with standard follow-up visits. Remote follow-up aims to replace scheduled and unscheduled face-to-face follow-up visits due to the interrogation of the automatic pacemaker functions. Currently available remote systems, such as Home Monitoring, CareLink, Merlin.net, and Latitude, have in common that they interrogate the device, send these data to a server, and provide the data to the physician on a secured web site. Automatic wireless interrogation of the device is the preferred solution; however, the devices must have been equipped with a micro-antenna, which is usually restricted to more recent pacemaker models. Knowledge about remote control in pacemaker patients is limited, because most remote applications were evaluated in ICD and CRT patients. While the most frequently reported clinical event in pacemaker patients is atrial fibrillation, the impact in routine clinical follow-up still has to be evaluated in detail. Device-related adverse events are rare. Large, long-term, randomized trials are comparing remote and conventional approaches with the aim of demonstrating the benefits of telemedicine in this patient group.