Use of device diagnostics as an educational tool to improve patient adherence.

Implantable cardiac devices are increasingly being used to treat heart failure and may provide an opportunity to more effectively monitor a patient's clinical status and prevent hospitalization by detecting subclinical congestion before progression to acute decompensated heart failure. This article reviews the use of device diagnostics in clinical practice and discusses their utility as tools in heart failure disease management, with a focus on the use of a new intrathoracic impedance diagnostic as an educational tool to improve patient adherence.