Advancing cardio-obstetric care through digital health technologies: A narrative review

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. As cardio-obstetric care evolves, digital health technologies including telehealth, wearable devices and remote monitoring are playing an increasingly critical role. These innovations have the potential to enhance cardiovascular screening, risk assessment and disease management across the perinatal continuum. This article explores the role of digital health technologies in advancing cardio-obstetrics care. It focuses on the impact of telehealth, wearable sensors and emerging digital tools on improving maternal cardiovascular outcomes and reducing disparities in care delivery. A narrative review approach was used to synthesize existing literature and clinical insights related to telecardiology, wearable monitoring and digital innovations. Emphasis was placed on applications in pregnancy and post-partum care, as well as on evaluating implementation challenges and equity concerns. Digital health tools improve access to care and facilitate early diagnosis of cardiovascular conditions. Telehealth increases care continuity and patient satisfaction, especially in underserved populations. Wearable devices equipped with photoplethysmography and electrocardiogram sensors enable intermittent, non-invasive monitoring, aiding early detection of arrhythmias and hypertensive disorders. Furthermore, novel technologies such as digital twins, natural language processing and virtual reality show potential to personalize care and support medical education. Despite these advancements, key barriers persist, including data privacy concerns, unequal access to technology and algorithmic bias. Digital health technologies are transforming cardio-obstetrics care by enabling proactive management and expanding access. However, for these tools to deliver equitable benefits, targeted efforts are needed to address privacy, infrastructure and literacy challenges. Future efforts should focus on integrating digital health into routine maternal care, promoting digital literacy, ensuring equitable technology access and improving interoperability with electronic health records. Additionally, ongoing evaluation through clinical trials in high-risk pregnancies and ethical safeguards to mitigate algorithmic bias will be essential to ensure safe, scalable and inclusive implementation of these innovations in maternal cardiovascular care.