The management of patients with chronic heart failure: the growing role of e-Health.

INTRODUCTION: The increasing pandemic of heart failure is becoming a serious challenge for the health care system. The medical world is searching for solutions which could decrease its scale and improve patients' quality of life and prognosis. Telemanagement of heart failure patients is a new promising option. Technical and technological platforms to perform e-Health management in heart failure patients' homes have become available. This paper's aims are to present different forms of e-Health including telecare, home monitoring of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices, remote monitoring of hemodynamic implantable devices and telerehabilitation in providing optimal long term management for heart failure patients. Areas covered: E-education and self-monitoring, structured telephone support and telemonitoring, remote monitoring of cardiovascular implantable electronics devices and hemodynamic implantable electronic devices and telerehabilitation. Expert commentary: The data analyzed in the paper suggests that remote monitoring is capable of identifying life-threatening deterioration and helps heart failure patients avoid seeking medical assistance in hospitals and that home-based telerehabilitation is well accepted, safe, effective and has high adherence among HF patients.