State of the art in remote monitoring technology

Patients with cardiac conditions represent the largest group monitored using wireless technology. Over the past 50years, the technology has evolved to encompass the measurement and tracking of multiple physiologic parameters, allowing clinicians to monitor the cardiac status of patients automatically and through patient-initiated downloads. This article reviews the technologic advances that have been made in this field and covers pivotal study results that demonstrate the usefulness of this approach in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure. Potential exciting new applications of this technology also are discussed.