An Overview of Telehealth in the Management of Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
Edwin A. Takahashi, Lee H. Schwamm, Opeolu Adeoye, Olamide Alabi, Eiman Jahangir, Sanjay Misra, Carolyn H. Still
Abstract
Telehealth enables the remote delivery of health care through telecommunication technologies and has substantially affected the evolving medical landscape. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the utilization of telehealth as health care professionals were forced to limit face-to-face in-person visits. It has been shown that information delivery, diagnosis, disease monitoring, and follow-up care can be conducted remotely, resulting in considerable changes specific to cardiovascular disease management. Despite increasing telehealth utilization, several factors such as technological infrastructure, reimbursement, and limited patient digital literacy can hinder the adoption of remote care. This scientific statement reviews definitions pertinent to telehealth discussions, summarizes the effect of telehealth utilization on cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease care, and identifies obstacles to the adoption of telehealth that need to be addressed to improve health care accessibility and equity.