Newswise — JMIR Publications recently published "The Impact of a Mobile App on Participation in Cardiac Rehabilitation and Understanding Barriers to Success: Comparative Cohort Study" in JMIR Cardio which evaluated the impact on cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participation rates associated with the addition of the option of mobile app–based CR for patients declining conventional CR.

A total of 204 consecutive patients were offered CR following angioplasty; of these, 99 were in cohort 1 and 105 were in cohort 2.

Patients in each cohort were followed throughout a 6-week CR program and participation rates were compared for both groups.

Patients in cohort 2 declining both forms of CR were interviewed to assess reasons for nonparticipation.

CR participation improved from 21% to 63% with the addition of the app.

Dr. James Cameron said, "Although current guidelines recommend referral for cardiac rehabilitation (CR) following acute cardiac events, participation rates remain poor."

A Cochrane review of CR has confirmed lower rates of cardiovascular mortality and readmission among those who participate in exercise-based CR programs.

Many currently available CR programs have not adapted to address these barriers.

To determine if app-based CR might help to overcome some of these barriers, the JMIR Cardio authors conducted an observational study on patients referred for CR in our facility.

They hypothesized that offering the additional option of app-based CR for those patients declining conventional CR would increase participation rates compared to offering conventional CR alone.

Information on reasons for nonparticipation in CR were collected to increase understanding of barriers and help identify ways to improve CR uptake.

The Cameron Research Team concluded in their JMIR Publications Research Output that a clinically validated app-based CR program can improve CR participation and should be considered as a standard component of a CR service, particularly for those patients who find conventional CR impractical, inconvenient, or unappealing. Further trials are needed to assess the value of app-based risk factor modification on long-term clinical outcomes across the spectrum of coronary artery disease, from early diagnosis to long-term secondary prevention.

###

DOI - https://doi.org/10.2196/24174

Full-text - https://cardio.jmir.org/2022/1/e24174/

Free Altmetric Report - https://jmir.altmetric.com/details/121075855

Keywords - cardiac rehabilitation, digital health, smartphone app, Cardihab, participation rates, rehabilitation, cardiology, heart, app, barrier

JMIR Publications is a leading, born-digital, open access publisher of 30+ academic journals and other innovative scientific communication products that focus on the intersection of health and technology. Its flagship journal, the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is the leading digital health journal globally in content breadth and visibility, and it is the largest journal in the medical informatics field.

To learn more about JMIR Publications, please visit https://www.JMIRPublications.com or connect with us via:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JMIRPublications

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JMedInternetRes

Twitter - https://twitter.com/jmirpub

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jmir-publications

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jmirpub/

Head Office - 130 Queens Quay East, Unit 1100 Toronto, ON, M5A 0P6 Canada

Media Contact - [email protected]

The content of this communication is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, published by JMIR Publications, is properly cited.

JMIR Publications is a registered trademark of JMIR Publications. 

Other Link: JMIR Cardio