Conclusions : Telehealth interventions with a range of delivery modes could be offered to patients who can not attend cardiac rehabilitation , or as an adjunct to cardiac rehabilitation for effective secondary prevention
Background : Coronary heart disease ( CHD ) is a major cause of death worldwide .
Cardiac rehabilitation , an evidence -based CHD secondary prevention programme , remains underutilized .
Telehealth may offer an innovative solution to overcome barriers to cardiac rehabilitation attendance .
We aim ed to determine whether contemporary telehealth interventions can provide effective secondary prevention as an alternative or adjunct care compared with cardiac rehabilitation and /or usual care for patients with CHD .
Digital health intervention during cardiac rehabilitation: A randomized controlled trial
Background Digital health interventions ( DHI ) have been shown to improve intermediates of cardiovascular health , but their impact on cardiovascular ( CV ) outcomes has not been fully explored . The aim of this study was to determine whether DHI administered during cardiac rehabilitation ( CR ) would reduce CV‐related emergency department ( ED ) visits and rehospitalizations in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention ( PCI ) for acute coronary syndrome ( ACS ) . Methods We r and omized patients undergoing CR following ACS and PCI to st and ard CR ( n = 40 ) or CR + DHI ( n = 40 ) for 3 months with 3 patients withdrawing from CR prior to initiation in the treatment arm and 6 in the control group . The DHI incorporated an online and smartphone‐based CR platform asking the patients to report of dietary and exercise habits throughout CR as well as educational information toward patients ' healthy lifestyles . We obtained data regarding ED visits and rehospitalizations at 180 days , as well as other metrics of secondary CV prevention at baseline and 90 days . Results Baseline demographics were similar between the groups . The DHI + CR group had improved weight loss compared to the control group ( −5.1 ± 6.5 kg vs. −0.8 ± 3.8 kg , respectively , P = .02 ) . Those in the DHI + CR group also showed a non‐significant reduction in CV‐related rehospitalizations plus ED visits compared to the control group at 180 days ( 8.1 % vs 26.6 % ; RR 0.30 , 95 % CI 0.08‐1.10 , P = .054 ) . Conclusions The current study demonstrated that complementary DHI  significantly improves weight loss , and might offer a method to reduce CV‐related ED visits plus rehospitalizations in patients after ACS undergoing CR . The study suggests a role for DHI as an adjunct to CR to improve secondary prevention of CV disease . Trial registration This trial is registered at clinical trials.gov ( NCT01883050 )
Conclusions : Telehealth interventions with a range of delivery modes could be offered to patients who can not attend cardiac rehabilitation , or as an adjunct to cardiac rehabilitation for effective secondary prevention
Background : Coronary heart disease ( CHD ) is a major cause of death worldwide .
Cardiac rehabilitation , an evidence -based CHD secondary prevention programme , remains underutilized .
Telehealth may offer an innovative solution to overcome barriers to cardiac rehabilitation attendance .
We aim ed to determine whether contemporary telehealth interventions can provide effective secondary prevention as an alternative or adjunct care compared with cardiac rehabilitation and /or usual care for patients with CHD .