Table 3: Existing Guidelines on Remote Monitoring for Heart Failure Events (Pre-COVID-19).

ESC: 2016 ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure[15] Recommendations for exercise, multidisciplinary management and monitoring of patients with heart failure: Monitoring of pulmonary artery pressures using a wireless implantable haemodynamic monitoring system (CardioMems) may be considered in symptomatic patients with HF with previous HF hospitalisation in order to reduce the risk of recurrent HF hospitalisation. (Class IIb, level B). Multiparameter monitoring based on ICD (IN-TIME approach) may be considered in symptomatic patients with HFrEF (LVEF≤35%) in order to improve clinical outcomes. (Class IIb, level B).

HFA of the ESC: Clinical practice update on heart failure 2019[66] Telemedicine: Home telemonitoring using an approach that is similar to the one used in TIM-HF2 (Telemedical Interventional Management in Heart Failure II) may be considered for patients with HF in order to reduce the risk recurrent CV and HF hospitalisations and CV death.

ACCF/AHA: 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure[23] Systems of care to promote care coordination for patients with chronic HF: The quality of evidence is mixed for specific components of HF clinical management interventions, such as home-based care, disease management, and remote telemonitoring programmes. Overall, very few specific interventions have been consistently identified and successfully applied in clinical practice.

AHA: Using Remote Patient Monitoring Technologies for Better Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes (2019)[67] HF: Although recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses have shown a positive effect on HF-related admissions and mortality rates and all-cause mortality rates, the bulk of the literature consists of low-quality and inconsistent evidence about the beneficial effect of remote monitoring.

ACCF = American College of Cardiology Foundation; AHA = American Heart Association; COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019; CV = cardiovascular; ESC = European Society of Cardiology; HF = heart failure; HFA = Heart Failure Association; HFrEF = heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; IN-TIME = INfluence of Home Monitoring on The clinical Management of heart failurE patients with impaired left ventricular function; LVEF = left ventricular ejection fraction.