Find home rehabilitation after myocardial infarction

Exercise programs are always carried out in the hospital, in the physiotherapy department. For this, patients had to come to the hospital two to three times every week for three months. Technological advances and home rehabilitation Maybe made. The exercise program is followed at home, with remote supervision.

The benefits for the patient are clear. Not only do they now not have to travel to the hospital more often, with the Home Rehabilitation Program they also have direct access to their data, progress and thus control over treatment, personal guidance and relapse prevention.

Is home rehabilitation equally effective?

The aim of Rutger Brouwers’ research was to find out what treatment would be best now; Rehabilitation at home or in the hospital. That’s why he started studying Smartcare CAD at Máxima MC. Unfortunately, patients often return to their old lifestyle after extensive counseling; while improving lifestyle, they significantly reduce the risk of developing new heart diseases. Therefore, innovative rehabilitation methods that ensure more patients are involved and contribute to the preservation of their effects are urgently needed. The SmartCare-CAD study wanted to verify whether remotely supervised home training had a greater impact than in-hospital training.

The research focused only on exercise program in physical therapy. Through a lottery, it was decided which participants would receive home treatment and who would physically come to the hospital for treatment. Participants eligible for home rehabilitation had to follow the first six training courses in the hospital, under the supervision of a physiotherapist. Then they trained at home for three months, using wearable sensors.

Rehabilitation and training goals have been tracked online through a dedicated platform. There, patient training data are uploaded and the patient can consult and adjust their progress. The physical therapist was in contact with the patients weekly, via a videoconference, to discuss progress and provide feedback. Then they were monitored remotely for 9 months. After one year, the two treatments were compared. A total of 300 heart patients participated in this study.

Both methods work well

The study showed that both patients who exercised at home and patients who exercised in hospital exercised more after a year, had physical fitness, lived a higher quality of life, were less depressed and could perform better in their daily lives. With their condition. There were no significant differences between the two groups. This also applies to patient satisfaction.

Additionally, it has also been found that prevention of relapse is not necessary in patients with low risk of new heart problems. “As with other studies in remote rehabilitation, the men who participated in our study had a relatively low risk of developing new heart disease. This may explain why we also saw so little relapse in physical activity. For future research, it is important to investigate. How can we also get other patient groups, which may become less active over time, enthusiastic about remote rehabilitation, “says Brewers. Results of the investigation Published In the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The application of ICT in healthcare is very promising. Digital interventions are as effective as face-to-face communication. Thanks to “remote care”, the number of physical visits to patients in the hospital decreases. This contributes to better care with more self-management, especially for patients with chronic illnesses. The MMC Vitality Center develops innovative, multidisciplinary programs, backed by technology, that motivate patients to better self-manage and sustain a healthy lifestyle.