Remote monitoring and follow-up of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

In the era of communication technology, new options are now available for following-up patients implanted with pacemakers (PMs) and defibrillators (ICDs). Most major companies offer devices with wireless capabilities that communicate automatically with home transmitters, which then relay data to the physician, thereby allowing remote patient follow-up and monitoring. These systems are being widely used in the USA for remote follow-up, and have been more recently introduced in Europe, where their adoption is increasing.

Biological effect of increased maintenance dose of clopidogrel in cardiovascular outpatients and influence of the cytochrome P450 2C19*2 allele on clopidogrel responsiveness.

Introduction: The first aim of this study is to evaluate the biological effect of doubling the maintenance dose of clopidogrel in pre-defined clopidogrel "low responders", compared to the biological effect of the standard dose in "responders". The second aim is to test the influence of the CYP 2C19*2 allele on clopidogrel responsiveness.

Materials And Methods: The platelet reactivity index (PRI), based on the phosphorylation status of the vasodilatator phosphoprotein, was determined in 81 consecutive cardiovascular outpatients who had been taking clopidogrel 75 mg/day for at least 15 days (visit 1).