Introduction
heart failure, hypertension, HF, CVD
ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (AF), CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, CVD, HEART FAILURE, HYPERTENSION
The socio-economic burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains high and even rises for some high-income countries, where it was previously seen to be declining [Successful patient management is highly dependent on patients’ compliance, which relates to the degree of patients' medication adherence, along with their observance of physician recommendations [Tele-monitoring might be one effective approach to reduce CVD burden. Typically, such a tele-monitoring programme comprises patient education, self-monitoring with goal-setting, and regular feedback to improve medical prescription adherence and facilitate lifestyle changes [In Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, a poorly populated federal state in Northern Germany, we developed a novel integrated care concept (NICC) that defines specific patient pathways based on a bundle of interventions for atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure (HF), and treatment-resistant hypertension (TRH). NICC’s key components are the combination of tele-monitoring and intensive patient care through a call centre. The randomized-controlled CardioCare MV trial, as reported herein, sought to demonstrate NICC’s superiority over standard care (SoC) in patients suffering from either AF, HF, or TRH.