Hybrid Cardiac Telerehabilitation After Acute Coronary Syndrome: Self-selection Predictors and Outcomes

José Bernardo Ferreira; Margarida Cabral; Rita Santos; Marta Ferreira; Rui Fonseca-Pinto; Alexandre Antunes; Filipa Januário

doi:10.5195/ijt.2023.6475

Hybrid Cardiac Telerehabilitation After Acute Coronary Syndrome: Self-selection Predictors and Outcomes

Int J Telerehabil. 2023 May 11;15(1):e6475. doi: 10.5195/ijt.2023.6475. eCollection 2023.

Authors

José Bernardo Ferreira¹, Margarida Cabral², Rita Santos¹, Marta Ferreira³, Rui Fonseca-Pinto⁴, Alexandre Antunes^{2

4}, Filipa Januário¹

Affiliations

¹ Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Department, Leiria Hospital Centre, Leiria, Portugal.
² Cardiology Department, Leiria Hospital Centre, Leiria, Portugal.
³ Centro De Matemática, Universidade Do Minho, Braga, Portugal.
⁴ CiTechcare-Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal.

Abstract

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of a hybrid cardiac telerehabilitation (HCTR) program after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) on patient quality of life (QoL) and physical activity indices throughout phases 2-3 and establish predictors for hybrid program self-selection.

Methodology: This single-centre longitudinal retrospective study included patients who attended a cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) between 2018-2021. Patients self-selected between two groups: Group 1 - conventional CRP (CCRP); Group 2 - HCTR. Baseline characteristics were registered. EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were applied at three times: T0 - phase 2 onset; T1 - phase 3 onset; T2 - 3 months after T1.

Results: 59 patients participated (Group 1 - 27; Group 2 - 32). We found significant between-group differences regarding occupation (p=0.003). Diabetic patients were less likely to self-select into HCTR (OR=0.21; p<0.05). EQ-5D visual analogue scale and IPAQ result significantly improved between T0-T2 only for HCTR (p=0.001; p=0.021).

Conclusions: HCTR was superior to CCRP on physical activity indices and QoL of ACS patients.

Keywords: Acute coronary syndrome; Cardiac rehabilitation; Telerehabilitation.