Medical Digital Technologies in Older Patients with Cardiac Disease Achievements and Drawbacks

Older adults are a growing population characterized by a high prevalence of multimorbidity and age-related conditions, such as organ and pharmacokinetic dysfunction. Medical digital technologies have emerged through the combined use of wearable, implantable, and insertable medical devices with digital systems. Gerontology aims to help older patients with disabilities utilize these technologies. These technologies are used in high-tech medical centers, particularly among older cardiac patients. Many cardiac societies support these technologies because of their positive medical effects in older cardiac patients. These technologies are added tools to support better outcomes and experiences of care in older cardiac patients. Medical centers claim that these technologies might enhance patient care, improve health outcomes, and lower medical expenditures. There are, however, some drawbacks. Internet technologies cannot completely replace face-to-face contact among cardiologists and patients. It is too early to assume that these technologies can be adopted without some adverse effects on the outcomes among high-risk cardiac patients with multimorbidity. Furthermore, it remains to be proven that such technologies can currently lower health costs, and one should also consider the significant expenses associated with their effective utilization. Furthermore, most health insurance plans do not cover bills resulting from these technologies. Therefore, family physicians show little interest in these technologies. The purpose of our mini review is to summarize the achievements of available medical digital technologies in geriatric cardiology and outline their drawbacks.