Telemedicine for Chronic Heart Failure: An Update

Abstract

Background: This is a short narrative review of the literature pertaining to telemedicine projects developed in the field of chronic heart failure (CHF), with particular focus on non-invasive telemonitoring projects including the French ones. Results: Numerous non-invasive telemonitoring projects based on connected objects and information and communication technology (ICT) have emerged in the CHF field over the last 10 years. Others are under development, such as the main international randomized telemonitoring studies TELE-HF, TIM-HF, and BEAT-HF, or the French telemonitoring projects SCAD, OSICAT, PIMS, MEDICA, and E-care. The E-care project is a new-generation project supporting patients' returning home after hospital discharge. It perfectly fits within the framework of telemedicine 2.0 projects, including for the first time artificial intelligence (AI). This project has been specifically designed to automatically detect situations at risk for CHF. The potential contribution of these French projects (OSICAT, E-care), in terms of mortality, morbidity, number of hospitalizations prevented, as well as economic benefits, is currently studied or documented.