Electronic cardiac medicine: present and future opportunities

The second half of the 20th century witnessed a revolution in electronic medicine similar to that in pharmacology in the decades before. The advent of the implantable pacemaker, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, cardiac resynchronisation therapies, insertable loop recorders and more, have improved diagnoses and reduced mortality and morbidity in millions of patients suffering from cardiac disease. The possibility to monitor patients continually without need for frequent office visits has the potential to reduce follow-up burden on physicians, facilitate increased use of home-based care and further improve the safety for patients. This review summarises the role of cardiac device therapies today and some of the developments which we can hope for in the nearest future.