The Italian Society of Cardiology and Working Group on Telecardiology and Informatics 2023 updated position paper on telemedicine and artificial intelligence in cardiovascular disease

Real-time technical support for guiding remotely ICD/CRT-D implantation

Background

In the electrophysiologic (EP) lab, technical support for implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-D) procedures is often limited by the availability and costs of field clinical specialist (FCS) bioengineers.

Methods

This study explores the viability of using remote support through an internet-based platform for ICD and CRT-D implantation procedures, aiming to enhance efficiency and overcome geographical or pandemic-related barriers. After preclinical phases, thirty patients underwent ICD/CRT-D guided either remotely or with on-site FCS implantation at two primary cardiac care centers, with ten procedures guided remotely and twenty cases with on-site FCS.

Results

All procedures in both study arms were successfully completed (100% of cases). Procedural time was shorter in the telemedicine group (P = 0.031). Although fluoroscopic time was slightly reduced in the remote guided group, the difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.5). No major adverse events occurred.

Conclusion

The study demonstrates the feasibility of remotely supported ICD and CRT-D implantation procedures.

Incidental and anticipated arrhythmic diagnoses in patients with an implantable cardiac monitor

AIMS

In this study, we investigated a cohort of unselected patients with various indications for an implantable cardiac monitor (ICM). Our main objectives were to determine the incidence of arrhythmic diagnoses, both anticipated and incidental in relation to the ICM indication, and to assess their clinical relevance.

METHODS

We examined remote monitoring transmissions from patients with an ICM at four Italian sites to identify occurrences of cardiac arrhythmias. Concurrently, we collected data on medical actions taken in response to arrhythmic findings.

RESULTS

The study included 119 patients, with a median follow-up period of 371 days. ICM indications were syncope/presyncope (46.2%), atrial fibrillation management (31.1%), and cryptogenic stroke (22.7%). In the atrial fibrillation management group, atrial fibrillation was the most common finding, with an incidence of 36% [95% confidence interval (CI) 22-55%] at 18 months. Rates of atrial fibrillation were not significantly different between patients with cryptogenic stroke and syncope/presyncope [17% (95% CI 7-40%) vs. 8% (95% CI 3-19%), P  = 0.229].For patients with cryptogenic stroke, the incidence of asystole and bradyarrhythmias at 18 months was 23% (95% CI 11-45%) and 42% (95% CI 24-65%), respectively, similar to estimates obtained for patients implanted for syncope/presyncope ( P  = 0.277 vs. P  = 0.836).Overall, 30 patients (25.2%) required medical intervention following ICM-detected arrhythmias, predominantly involving atrial fibrillation ablation (10.9%) and medication therapy changes (10.1%).

CONCLUSION

In a real-life population with heterogeneous insertion indications, approximately 25% of patients received ICM-guided medical interventions within a short timeframe, including treatments for incidental findings. Common incidental arrhythmic diagnoses were bradyarrhythmias in patients with cryptogenic stroke and atrial fibrillation in patients with unexplained syncope.

Large Language Model-based Chatbot as a Source of Advice on First Aid in Heart Attack

The ability of the cutting-edge large language model-powered chatbots to generate human-like answers to user questions hypothetically could be utilized for providing real-time advice on first aid for witnesses of cardiovascular emergencies. This study aimed to evaluate quality of the chatbot responses to inquiries on help in heart attack. The study simulated interrogation of the new Bing chatbot (Microsoft Corporation, USA) with the "heart attack what to do" prompt coming from 3 countries, the Gambia, India and the USA. The chatbot responses (20 per country) were evaluated for congruence with the International First Aid, Resuscitation, and Education Guidelines 2020 using a checklist. For all user inquiries, the chatbot provided answers containing some guidance on first aid. However, the responses commonly left out some potentially life-saving instructions, for instance to encourage the person to stop physical activity, to take antianginal medication, or to start cardiopulmonary resuscitation for unresponsive abnormally breathing person. Mean percentage of the responses having full congruence with the checklist criteria varied from 7.3 for India to 16.8 for the USA. A quarter of responses for the Gambia and the USA, and 45.0% for India contained superfluous guidelines-inconsistent directives. The chatbot advice on help in heart attack has omissions, inaccuracies and misleading instructions, and therefore the chatbot cannot be recommended as a credible source of information on first aid. Active research and organizational efforts are needed to mitigate the risk of uncontrolled misinformation and establish measures for guaranteeing trustworthiness of the chatbot-mediated counseling.

Smart Technologies used as Smart Tools in the Management of Cardiovascular Disease and their Future Perspective

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The advent of smart technologies has significantly impacted the management of CVD, offering innovative tools and solutions to improve patient outcomes. Smart technologies have revolutionized and transformed the management of CVD, providing innovative tools to improve patient care, enhance diagnostics, and enable more personalized treatment approaches. These smart tools encompass a wide range of technologies, including wearable devices, mobile applications,3D printing technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), remote monitoring systems, and electronic health records (EHR). They offer numerous advantages, such as real-time monitoring, early detection of abnormalities, remote patient management, and data-driven decision-making. However, they also come with certain limitations and challenges, including data privacy concerns, technical issues, and the need for regulatory frameworks. In this review, despite these challenges, the future of smart technologies in CVD management looks promising, with advancements in AI algorithms, telemedicine platforms, and bio fabrication techniques opening new possibilities for personalized and efficient care. In this article, we also explore the role of smart technologies in CVD management, their advantages and disadvantages, limitations, current applications, and their smart future.

Revascularization and Left Ventricular Dysfunction for ICD Eligibility

Common triggers for sudden cardiac death (SCD) are transient ischemia, hemodynamic fluctuations, neurocardiovascular influences, and environmental factors. SCD occurs rapidly when sinus rhythm degenerates into ventricular tachycardia (VT) and/or ventricular fibrillation (VF), followed by asystole. Such progressive worsening of the cardiac rhythm is in most cases observed in the setting of ischemic heart disease and often associated with advanced left ventricular (LV) impairment. Revascularization prevents negative outcomes including SCD and heart failure (HF) due to LV dysfunction (LVD). The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) on top of medical therapy is superior to antiarrhythmic drugs for patients with LVD and VT/VF. The beneficial effects of ICD have been demonstrated in primary prevention of SCD as well. However, yet debated is the temporal management for patients with LVD who are eligible to ICD prior to revascularization, either through percutaneous or surgical approach. Restoration of coronary blood flow has a dramatic impact on adverse LV remodeling, while it requires aggressive long-term antiplatelet therapy, which might increase complication for eventual ICD procedure when percutaneous strategy is pursued; on the other hand, when LV and/or multiorgan dysfunction is present and coronary artery bypass grafting is chosen, the overall risk is augmented, mostly in HF patients. The aims of this review are to describe the pathophysiologic benefits of revascularization, the studies addressing percutaneous, surgical or no revascularization and ICD implantation, as well as emerging defibrillation strategies for patients deemed at transient risk of SCD and/or at higher risk for transvenous ICD implantation.