From Alert Overload to Intelligent Care is a data-driven series examining how cardiac remote monitoring is evolving to meet the realities of modern care. As alert volumes grow and care teams face increasing clinical and operational pressure, this series explores the evidence behind smarter monitoring workflows – including AI-assisted triage – and what they mean for patient safety, clinician well-being, and long-term sustainability. Each article focuses on real-world challenges, validated data, and practical insights.
The Data Deluge
Remote monitoring is recommended as the standard approach for care of patients with CIEDs. Adoption accelerated rapidly over the past several years, driven by advances in connectivity, patient preference, and strong clinical evidence. Remote monitoring improves patient safety and convenience, lowers costs, and reduces the burden of unnecessary in-office visits. As a result, professional societies now recommend remote monitoring as a Class I indication for patients with cardiac devices.¹,²
At the same time, this success has created a new challenge: data overload. Every pacemaker, defibrillator, and implantable loop recorder generates frequent transmissions and alerts. As patient volumes grow, clinics are facing an “alert tsunami.” Device teams must manage connectivity issues, fragmented data platforms, and – most critically – sheer alert volume.
More than half of patients with CIEDs transmit at least one alert per year, resulting in tens of thousands of notifications that require review.³ In one large multicenter analysis, more than 82,000 alerts were recorded from approximately 26,700 patients in just twelve months. Implantable loop recorders generated a disproportionate share of this burden. Researchers concluded that the volume of transmissions highlights an urgent need for new management pathways.³ Without smarter workflows, clinics risk becoming overwhelmed by the very data meant to improve care.
To explore how clinics are already reducing workload and cutting data burden, see Six Ways to Reduce Data Burden in Cardiology Clinics.
References
- Varma N, et al. HRS/EHRA/APHRS/LAHRS Expert Consensus Statement on Remote Monitoring of Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Devices. Heart Rhythm. 2023.
- Slotwiner DJ, et al. Impact of Remote Monitoring on Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices. Circulation.
- Boriani G, et al. Burden of alerts in remote monitoring of cardiac implantable electronic devices. Europace.