Research Trends and Emerging Applications of Cardiovascular Treatment-Related Medical Devices: A Bibliometric and Narrative Review

ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular diseases are associated with high morbidity, disability, and mortality, and their long-term prevention and management increasingly depend on precise intervention, continuous monitoring, and individualized treatment. These needs have accelerated the development of treatment-related medical devices, including interventional devices, implantable systems, monitoring platforms, and intelligent assistive technologies. However, rapid growth in this field has fragmented the evidence in terms of data sources, analytical tools, research topics, and methodological pathways, leaving an insufficiently clear understanding of the knowledge structure, hotspot evolution, and development directions. To address these issues, this study combines bibliometric analysis and knowledge mapping with a structured narrative discussion of cardiovascular treatment-related medical devices. The bibliometric dataset comprised English-language articles and reviews indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection from 2015 to 2025, while representative studies published mainly between 2023 and 2026 were also considered in the application-oriented discussion to highlight recent technological and clinical developments. The review addressed several dimensions, including literature data sources, analytical tool application, keyword evolution, institutional distribution, and representative device applications. Specifically, this study first summarizes the database sources, search strategies, and literature screening procedures, thereby clarifying the main pathways and basic characteristics of data acquisition in this field. It then reviews the use of commonly used bibliometric tools in publication trend analysis, collaboration network analysis, co-citation analysis, and topic identification, while comparing their advantages and limitations in visualization and knowledge mining. Furthermore, based on annual publication output, high-frequency keywords, keyword co-occurrence, clustering structures, burst terms, and institutional distribution patterns, this study systematically analyzes research hotspots, frontier directions, major research forces, and evolutionary patterns in the field. Finally, the overall development status of cardiovascular treatment-related medical device research is discussed from the perspectives of knowledge base, hotspot migration, methodological system, and recent application pathways represented by transcatheter intervention, left atrial appendage occlusion, conventional and leadless pacing, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, wearable cardioverter-defibrillators, pulsed field ablation, renal denervation, and intelligent monitoring. The results indicate that bibliometric analysis based on clearly defined boundary conditions can reveal the research landscape, institutional distribution characteristics, hotspot directions, and methodological evolution pathways of this field. These findings may inform topic refinement, technical route optimization, and methodological selection in future studies. With the integration of multisource heterogeneous data, artificial intelligence-based analytical tools, and application-oriented device innovation, cardiovascular medical devices are likely to advance toward more intelligent, precise, and data-driven development. The narrative component also considers device configuration, materials, mechanical loading, manufacturing, bench testing, failure modes, standards, and long-term clinical translation.