This study investigates whether an additional remote follow-up of patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) has beneficial effects on Quality of life (QoL), levels of anxiety and depression and device acceptance. Patients are randomized to either conventional in-office FU only or additional remote surveillance, follow-up duration is 12 months. The influence of other variables (age, sex,..) is evaluated regarding their influence on study endpoints.

The rising number of implantable cardiac devices leads to an increasing amount of device-related workload, e.g. regular in-office follow-ups (FU). New means of ICD FU strategies are necessary to handle the increasing burden. ICD remote monitoring promises a time- and cost efficient alternative to conventional in-office FU strategies. Many studies have already shown benefits on FU burden reduction, on saving of costs and time, and recently on total mortality. The impact of remote ICD FU on Quality of life, anxiety and depression levels and device acceptance is still under discussion. The aim of this trial is to investigate the influence of additional remote ICD surveillance on the primary endpoint health related quality of life (HRQoL), further on levels of anxiety and depression and on device acceptance.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients willing to participate
• Patients with new-implantation of an ICD or device replacement due to battery depletion between May 2011 and April 2013
• Sufficient knowledge of the German language
• Expectancy of life >1 years at good clinical status
• Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age <18 years
• Subjects not able to give written informed consent
• Subjects without sufficient German language skills