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 .
The effect of a telephone follow-up intervention on illness perception and lifestyle after myocardial infarction in China: a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND Lifestyle modification is an integral component of cardiac secondary prevention , while it has been confirmed that myocardial infa rct ion ( MI ) patients ' health-related behaviors are heavily influenced by their illness perception . OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effect of a telephone follow-up intervention for improving MI patients '  illness perception and lifestyle . DESIGN A r and omized controlled trial , longitudinal research design was employed . SETTING S Cardiac care units in four major general hospitals in Guangzhou , China . PARTICIPANTS Inclusion criteria were being diagnosed with an initial acute MI , being able to communicate orally in M and arin or Cantonese and read in Chinese , and living in Guangzhou . Exclusion criteria were with continuing uncontrolled arrhythmias or heart failure , being illiteracy , or with a history of major psychiatric illness , exercise-induced asthma , uncontrolled diabetes , or evidence of dementia . METHOD 124 patients admitted with the first acute MI were r and omized to receive either routine care or routine care plus a telephone follow-up intervention , which consist of a pre-discharge education and three telephone follow-up instructions . Data were collected before discharge , at the 6th and the 12th week after discharge from hospital , respectively . RESULTS At the 6th and the 12th week after discharge , patients in the intervention group had significantly positive perceptions about symptoms of MI ( mean difference 3.27 , 95 % confidence interval 2.48 - 4.07 , p<.001 ; mean difference 2.12 , 95 % confidence interval 1.34 - 2.89 , p<.001 respectively ) and how long their illness would last ( mean difference -0.69 , 95 % confidence interval -0.91 to -0.47 , p<.001 ; mean difference -0.74 , 95 % confidence interval -0.96 to -0.51 , p<.001 respectively ) compared with the control group . The intervention group also had more positive beliefs about the controllability ( F=4.23 , p=.04 ) and more improved beliefs about the causes of MI than the control group . Moreover , the intervention improved the patients ' nutrition ( F=5.16 , p=.03 ) and physical activity at the 12-week follow-up ( mean difference 0.37 , 95 % confidence interval 0.17 - 0.58 , p<.001 ) . CONCLUSION This telephone follow-up intervention can result in improved illness perception and lifestyle after MI . It could be incorporated into current hospital treatment regimens for MI to improve patients ' quality of life
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 .