Home-based cardiac rehab cuts barriers for heart attack survivors
Swedish researchers found that remotely delivered exercise programs work safely for post-heart attack patients, with two-thirds completing treatment. The finding addresses a major market opportunity for digital health companies and signals that payers can expand rehabilitation access beyond traditional clinic-based models.
Originaltitel: Feasibility, safety and patient perceptions of exercise-based cardiac telerehabilitation in a multicentre real-world setting after myocardial infarction—the remote exercise SWEDEHEART study
<p><strong>Aims </strong></p><p>Cardiac telerehabilitation addresses common barriers for attendance at exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (EBCR). Pragmatic real-world studies are however lacking, limiting generalizability of available evidence. We aimed to evaluate feasibility, safety, and patient perceptions of remotely delivered EBCR in a multicentre clinical practice setting after myocardial infarction (MI).</p><p><strong>Methods and results </strong></p><p>This study included 232 post-MI patients (63.7 years, 77.5% men) from 23 cardiac rehabilitation centres in Sweden (2020-22). Exercise was delivered twice per week for 3 months through a real-time group-based video meeting connecting a physiotherapist to patients exercising at home. Outcomes were assessed before and after remote EBCR completion and comprised assessment of physical fitness, self-reported physical activity and exercise, physical capacity, kinesiophobia, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), self-efficacy for exercise, exercise adherence, patient acceptance. Safety monitoring in terms of adverse events (AE) and serious adverse events (SAE) was recorded. A total of 67.2% of the patients attended >= 75% of prescribed exercise sessions. Significant improvements in physical fitness, self-reported exercise, physical capacity, kinesiophobia, and HRQoL were observed. Patients agreed that remote EBCR improved health care access (83%), was easy to use (94%) and found exercise performance and interaction acceptable (95%). Sixteen exercise-related AEs (most commonly dizziness and musculoskeletal symptoms) were registered, all of which were resolved. Two SAEs requiring hospitalization were reported, both unrelated to exercise.</p><p><strong>Conclusion </strong></p><p>This multicentre study supports remote EBCR post-MI as feasible and safe with a high patient acceptance in a real-world setting. The clinical effectiveness needs to be confirmed in a randomized controlled trial.</p>