While the results of this systematic review are promising , there is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of text message-based interventions for adherence to medications for secondary prevention of CVD .
BACKGROUND Worldwide at least 100 million people are thought to have prevalent cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) .
This population has a five times greater chance of suffering a recurrent cardiovascular event than people without known CVD .
Secondary CVD prevention is defined as action aim ed to reduce the probability of recurrence of such events .
Drug interventions have been shown to be cost-effective in reducing this risk and are recommended in international guidelines .
However , adherence to recommended treatments remains sub-optimal .
In order to influence non-adherence , there is a need to develop scalable and cost-effective behaviour-change interventions .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of mobile phone text messaging in patients with established arterial occlusive events on adherence to treatment , fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events , and adverse effects .
Telemonitoring and Mobile Phone-Based Health Coaching Among Finnish Diabetic and Heart Disease Patients: Randomized Controlled Trial
Background There is a strong will and need to find alternative models of health care delivery driven by the ever-increasing burden of chronic diseases . Objective The purpose of this 1-year trial was to study whether a structured mobile phone-based health coaching program , which was supported by a remote monitoring system , could be used to improve the health-related quality of life ( HRQL ) and /or the clinical measures of type 2 diabetes and heart disease patients . Methods A r and omized controlled trial was conducted among type 2 diabetes patients and heart disease patients of the South Karelia Social and Health Care District . Patients were recruited by sending invitations to r and omly selected patients using the electronic health records system . Health coaches called patients every 4 to 6 weeks and patients were encouraged to self-monitor their weight , blood pressure , blood glucose ( diabetics ) , and steps ( heart disease patients ) once per week . The primary outcome was HRQL measured by the Short Form ( 36 ) Health Survey ( SF-36 ) and glycosylated hemoglobin ( HbA1c ) among diabetic patients . The clinical measures assessed were blood pressure , weight , waist circumference , and lipid levels . Results A total of 267 heart patients and 250 diabetes patients started in the trial , of which 246 and 225 patients concluded the end-point assessment s , respectively . Withdrawal from the study was associated with the patients ’ unfamiliarity with mobile phones — of the 41 dropouts , 85 % ( 11/13 ) of the heart disease patients and 88 % ( 14/16 ) of the diabetes patients were familiar with mobile phones , whereas the corresponding percentages were 97.1 % ( 231/238 ) and 98.6 % ( 208/211 ) , respectively , among the rest of the patients ( P=.02 and P=.004 ) . Withdrawal was also associated with heart disease patients ’ comorbidities—40 % ( 8/20 ) of the dropouts had at least one comorbidity , whereas the corresponding percentage was 18.9 % ( 47/249 ) among the rest of the patients ( P=.02 ) . The intervention showed no statistically significant benefits over the current practice with regard to health-related quality of life — heart disease patients : beta=0.730 ( P=.36 ) for the physical component score and beta=-0.608 ( P=.62 ) for the mental component score ; diabetes patients : beta=0.875 ( P=.85 ) for the physical component score and beta=-0.770 ( P=.52 ) for the mental component score . There was a significant difference in waist circumference in the type 2 diabetes group ( beta=-1.711 , P=.01 ) . There were no differences in any other outcome variables . Conclusions A health coaching program supported with telemonitoring did not improve heart disease patients ' or diabetes patients '  quality of life or their clinical condition . There were indications that the intervention had a differential effect on heart patients and diabetes patients . Diabetes patients may be more prone to benefit from this kind of intervention . This should not be neglected when developing new ways for self-management of chronic diseases . Trial Registration Clinical Trials.gov NCT01310491 ; http:// clinical trials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01310491 ( Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6Z8l5FwAM )
While the results of this systematic review are promising , there is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of text message-based interventions for adherence to medications for secondary prevention of CVD .
BACKGROUND Worldwide at least 100 million people are thought to have prevalent cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) .
This population has a five times greater chance of suffering a recurrent cardiovascular event than people without known CVD .
Secondary CVD prevention is defined as action aim ed to reduce the probability of recurrence of such events .
Drug interventions have been shown to be cost-effective in reducing this risk and are recommended in international guidelines .
However , adherence to recommended treatments remains sub-optimal .
In order to influence non-adherence , there is a need to develop scalable and cost-effective behaviour-change interventions .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of mobile phone text messaging in patients with established arterial occlusive events on adherence to treatment , fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events , and adverse effects .