Do implantable loop recorders impact the survival of patients with recurrent unexplained syncope?

New insertable cardiac monitors show high diagnostic yield and good safety profile in real-world clinical practice: results from the international prospective observational SMART Registry

AIMS

Insertable cardiac monitors (ICMs) are indicated for long-term monitoring of unexplained syncope or palpitations, and for detection of bradycardia, ventricular tachycardia, and/or atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of our study was to evaluate the safety and clinical value associated with a new generation ICM (Confirm Rx™, Abbott, Illinois, USA), featuring a new remote monitoring system based on smartphone patient applications.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The SMART Registry is an international prospective observational study. The main endpoints were ICM safety (incidence of serious adverse device and procedure-related events (SADEs) at 1 month), ICM clinical value (incidence of device-detected true arrhythmias and of clinical diagnoses and interventions), and patient-reported experience measurements (PREMs). A total of 1400 subjects were enrolled. ICM indications included syncope (49.1%), AF (18.8%), unexplained palpitations (13.6%), risk of ventricular arrhythmia (6.6%), and cryptogenic stroke (6.0%). Freedom from SADEs at 1 month was 99.4% (95% Confidence Interval: 98.8-99.7%). In the 6-month monitoring period, the ICM detected true cardiac arrhythmias in 45.7% of patients and led to clinical interventions in a relevant proportion of patients; in particular, a pacemaker implant was performed after bradycardia detection in 8.9% of subjects who received an ICM for syncope and oral anticoagulation therapy was indicated after AF detection in 15.7% of subjects with cryptogenic stroke. PREMs showed that 78.2% of subjects were satisfied with the remote monitoring patient app.

CONCLUSION

The evaluated ICM is associated with an excellent safety profile and high diagnostic yield. Patients reported positive experiences associated with the use of their smartphone for the device remote monitoring.