Technology-assisted cardiac rehabilitation for coronary heart disease patients with central obesity: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Limited empirical evidence is available regarding the effect of technology-assisted cardiac rehabilitation (TACR) among coronary heart disease (CHD) patients with central obesity. AIM: To determine the effects of 12-week TACR on health outcomes of patients with CHD. DESIGN: Two-arm randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Cardiovascular department of a regional hospital. POPULATION: Coronary heart disease patients with central obesity. METHODS: The study randomized 78 hospitalized CHD patients to receive either the 12-week TACR intervention or usual care. Guided by social cognitive theory, the intervention began with an in-person assessment and orientation session to assess and identify individual risks and familiarize with the e-platform/device before discharge. After discharge, patients were encouraged to visit the interactive CR website for knowledge and skills acquisition, data uploading, use the pedometer for daily step tracking, and interact with peers and professionals via social media for problem-solving and mutual support. Data were collected at baseline (T0), six-week (T1), and 12-week (T2). RESULTS: Participants in the intervention group showed significant improvement in daily steps at six weeks but not 12 weeks (T1: ß=2713.48, P=0.03; T2:ß=2450.70, P=0.08), weekly sitting minutes (T1: ß=-665.17, P=0.002; T2: ß=-722.29, P=0.02), and total (vigorous, moderate, and walking) exercise at 12-week (ß=-2445.99, P=0.008). Improvement in health-promoting lifestyle profile (T1: ß=24.9, P<0.001; T2: ß=15.50, P<0.001), smoking cessation (T2: ß=-2.28, P<0.04), self-efficacy (T2: ß=0.63, P=0.02), body mass index (T1:ß =-0.97, P=0.03; T2: ß=-0.73, P=0.04) and waist circumferences (T1: ß =-1.97, P=0.003; T2: ß =-3.14, P=0.002) were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicated the effectiveness of the TACR intervention in improving healthy behaviors and anthropometric parameters for CHD patients with central obesity. Individual assessment, collaborative action planning, and ongoing obesity management support should be highlighted in TACR programs for CHD patients. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Central obesity should be assessed and highlighted in TACR intervention as an independent risk factor that requires corresponding behavior change and body fat management.

Does problem-based learning improve patient empowerment and cardiac risk factors in patients with coronary heart disease in a Swedish primary care setting? A long-term prospective, randomised, parallel single randomised trial (COR-PRIM).

OBJECTIVES: To investigate long-term effects of a 1-year problem-based learning (PBL) on self-management and cardiac risk factors in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). DESIGN: A prospective, randomised, parallel single centre trial. SETTINGS: Primary care settings in Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: 157 patients with stable CHD completed the study. Subjects with reading and writing impairments, mental illness or expected survival less than 1 year were excluded. INTERVENTION: Participants were randomised and assigned to receive either PBL (intervention) or home-sent patient information (control group). In this study, participants were followed up at baseline, 1, 3 and 5 years. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Primary outcome was patient empowerment (Swedish Coronary Empowerment Scale, SWE-CES) and secondary outcomes General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), self-rated health status (EQ-VAS), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), body mass index (BMI), weight and smoking. Outcomes were adjusted for sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: The PBL intervention group resulted in a significant improved change in SWE-CES over the 5-year period (mean (M), 39.39; 95% CI 37.88 to 40.89) compared with the baseline (M 36.54; 95% CI 35.40 to 37.66). PBL intervention group increased HDL-C level (M 1.39; 95% CI 1.28 to 1.50) compared with baseline (M 1.24; 95% CI 1.15 to 1.33) and for EQ-VAS (M 77.33; 95% CI 73.21 to 81.45) compared with baseline (M 68.13; 95% CI 63.66 to 72.59) while these outcomes remained unchanged in the control group. There were no significant differences in BMI, weight or scores on GSES, neither between nor within groups over time. The overall proportion of smokers was significantly higher in the control group than in the experimental group. CONCLUSION: One-year PBL intervention had positive effect on patient empowerment, health status and HDL-C at a 5-year follow-up compared with the control group. PBL education aiming to improve patient empowerment in cardiac rehabilitation should account for sociodemographic factors. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01462799.

Effectiveness of home-based cardiac telerehabilitation as an alternative to Phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation of coronary heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIMS: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic saw the suspension of centre-based cardiac rehabilitation (CBCR) and has underscored the need for home-based cardiac telerehabilitation (HBCTR) as a feasible alternative rehabilitation delivery model. Yet, the effectiveness of HBCTR as an alternative to Phase 2 CBCR is unknown. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to quantitatively appraise the effectiveness of HBCTR. METHODS AND RESULTS: PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, Scopus, and PsycINFO were searched from inception to January 2021. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing HBCTR to Phase 2 CBCR or usual care in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Out of 1588 studies, 14 RCTs involving 2869 CHD patients were included in this review. When compared with usual care, participation in HBCTR showed significant improvement in functional capacity {6-min walking test distance [mean difference (MD) 25.58 m, 95% confidence interval (CI) 14.74-36.42]}; daily step count (MD 1.05 K, 95% CI 0.36-1.75) and exercise habits [odds ratio (OR) 2.28, 95% CI 1.30-4.00)]; depression scores (standardized MD -0.16, 95% CI -0.32 to 0.01) and quality of life [Short-Form mental component summary (MD 2.63, 95% CI 0.06-5.20) and physical component summary (MD 1.99, 95% CI 0.83-3.16)]. Effects on medication adherence were synthesized narratively. HBCTR and CBCR were comparably effective. CONCLUSION: In patients with CHD, HBCTR was associated with an increase in functional capacity, physical activity (PA) behaviour, and depression when compared with UC. When HBCTR was compared to CBCR, an equivalent effect on functional capacity, PA behaviour, QoL, medication adherence, smoking behaviour, physiological risk factors, depression, and cardiac-related hospitalization was observed.

Prognostic value of long-term trajectories of depression for incident diabetes mellitus in patients with stable coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and depression are bidirectionally interrelated. We recently identified long-term trajectories of depression symptom severity in individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD), which were associated with the risk for subsequent cardiovascular events (CVE). We now investigated the prognostic value of these trajectories of symptoms of depression with the risk of incident DM in patients with stable coronary heart disease. METHODS: The KAROLA cohort included CHD patients participating in an in-patient rehabilitation program (years 1999/2000) and followed for up to 15 years. We included 1048 patients (mean age 59.4 years, 15% female) with information on prevalent DM at baseline and follow-up data. Cox proportional hazards models were used to model the risk for incident DM during follow-up by depression trajectory class adjusted for age, sex, education, smoking status, body mass index, and physical activity. In addition, we modeled the excess risk for subsequent CVE due to incident DM during follow-up for each of the depression trajectories. RESULTS: DM was prevalent in 20.7% of patients at baseline. Over follow-up, 296 (28.2%) of patients had a subsequent CVE. During follow-up, 157 (15.0%) patients developed incident DM before experiencing a subsequent CVE. Patients following a high-stable depression symptom trajectory were at substantially higher risk of developing incident DM than patients following a low-stable depression symptom trajectory (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.50; 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.35, 4.65)). A moderate-stable and an increasing depression trajectory were associated with HRs of 1.48 (95%-CI (1.10, 1.98)) and 1.77 (95%-CI (1.00, 3.15)) for incident DM. In addition, patients in the high-stable depression trajectory class who developed incident DM during follow-up were at 6.5-fold risk (HR = 6.51; 95%-CI (2.77, 15.3)) of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with CHD, following a trajectory of high stable symptoms of depression was associated with an increased risk of incident DM. Furthermore, incident DM in these patients was associated with a substantially increased risk of subsequent CVE. Identifying depressive symptoms and pertinent treatment offers might be an important and promising approach to enhance outcomes in patients with CHD, which should be followed up in further research and practice.

Avaliação do suporte social e da adesão medicamentosa em pacientes com doença arterial coronariana / Evaluation of social support and medication adherence in patients with coronary artery disease

Objetivo: Avaliar a adesão medicamentosa e o suporte social percebido e sua associação em pacientes hospitalizados por Doença Arterial Coronária. Método: Estudo transversal envolvendo pacientes hospitalizados por Síndrome Coronariana Aguda ou Crônica. A adesão medicamentosa foi avaliada pelo Brief Medication Questionnaire e o suporte social pela Escala de Apoio Social do Medical Outcomes Study. Valor p<0,05 foi considerado como significativo. Resultados: Incluídos 59 pacientes, sendo que 50,8% foram classificados como potencial para não adesão e 37,3% como não aderentes. O suporte social percebido identificado foi considerado como quase sempre a sempre. Os pacientes aderentes e aqueles classificados como potencial para não adesão apresentaram maior escore no domínio emocional/informacional quando comparados com aqueles classificados como potencial para adesão (p=0,01). Conclusão: Houve alta prevalência de baixa adesão medicamentosa e altos escores de suporte social percebido. O suporte emocional e de informação apresentou associação com os níveis de adesão medicamentosa.

Objective: Was to evaluate medication adherence and perceived social support and their association in patients hospitalized for Coronary Artery Disease. Methods: Cross-sectional study involving patients hospitalized for Acute or Chronic Coronary Syndrome. Medication adherence was assessed by the Brief Medication Questionnaire and social support by the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale. P-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Fifty-nine patients were included, of which 50.8% were classified as potential for non-adherence and 37.3% as non-adherent. The perceived social support identified was considered as almost always. Adherent patients and those classified as potential for non-adherence had a higher score in the emotional/informational domain compared to those classified as potential for adherence (p=0.01). Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of low medication adherence and high perceived social support scores. Emotional and informational support was associated with the levels of medication adherence.

The effect of problem-based learning after coronary heart disease - a randomised study in primary health care (COR-PRIM).

BACKGROUND: Cardiac rehabilitation is effective after coronary heart disease (CHD). However, risk factors remain, and patients report fear for recurrence during recovery. Problem-based learning is a pedagogical method, where patients work self-directed in small groups with problem solving of real-life situations to manage CHD risk factors and self-care. We aimed to demonstrate the better effectiveness of problem-based learning over home-sent patient information for evaluating long-term effects of patient empowerment and self-care in patients with CHD. Hypothesis tested: One year of problem-based learning improves patients' empowerment- and self-efficacy, to change self-care compared to 1 year of standardised home-sent patient information after CHD. METHODS: Patients (N = 157) from rural and urban areas in Sweden between 2011 and 2015 (78% male; age. 68 ± 8.5 years) with CHD verified by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (70.1%) or coronary artery by-pass surgery (CABG) and CABG+PCI or myocardial infarction (29.9%) were randomly assigned to problem-based learning (experimental group; n = 79) or home-sent patient information (controls; n = 78). The problem-based learning intervention consisted of patient education in primary care by nurses tutoring groups of 6-9 patients on 13 occasions over 1 year. Controls received home-sent patient information on 11 occasions during the study year. RESULTS: At one-year follow-up, the primary outcome, patient empowerment, did not significantly differ between the experimental group and controls. We found no significant differences between the groups regarding the secondary outcomes e.g. self-efficacy, although we found significant differences for body mass index (BMI) [- 0.17 (SD 1.5) vs. 0.50 (SD 1.6), P = 0.033], body weight [- 0.83 (SD) 4.45 vs. 1.14 kg (SD 4.85), P = 0.026] and HDL cholesterol [0.1 (SD 0.7) vs. 0.0 mmol/L (SD 0.3), P = 0.038] favouring the experimental group compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: The problem-based learning- and the home-sent patient information interventions had similar results regarding patient empowerment, self-efficacy, and well-being. However, problem-based learning exhibited significant effects on weight loss, BMI, and HDL cholesterol levels, indicating that this intervention positively affected risk factors compared to the home-sent patient information. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01462799 (February 2020).

Factors associated with smoking cessation in patients with coronary heart disease: a cohort analysis of the German subset of EuroAspire IV survey.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking is one of the most important risk factors of coronary heart disease (CHD). Hence, smoking cessation is considered pivotal in the prevention of CHD. The current study aimed to evaluate smoking cessation patterns and determine factors associated with smoking cessation in patients with established CHD. METHODS: The fourth European Survey of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Diabetes investigated quality of CHD care in 24 countries across Europe in 2012/13. In the German subset, smoking cessation patterns and clinical characteristics were repetitively assessed a) during index event due to CHD by medical record abstraction, b) as part of a face-to-face interview 6 to 36 months after the index event (i.e. baseline visit), and c) by telephone-based follow-up interview two years after the baseline visit. Logistic regression analysis was performed to search for factors determining smoking status at the time of the telephone interview. RESULTS: Out of 469 participants available for follow-up, 104 (22.2%) had been classified as current smokers at the index event. Of those, 65 patients (62.5%) had quit smoking at the time of the telephone interview, i.e., after a median observation period of 3.5 years (quartiles 3.0, 4.1). Depressed mood at baseline visit and higher education level were less prevalent amongst quitters vs non-quitters (17.2% vs 35.9%, p = 0.03 and 15.4% vs 33.3%, p = 0.03), cardiac rehabilitation programs were more frequently attended by quitters (83.1% vs 48.7%, p < 0.001), and there was a trend for a higher prevalence of diabetes at baseline visit in quitters (37.5% vs 20.5%, p = 0.07). In the final multivariable model, cardiac rehabilitation was associated with smoking cessation (OR 5.19; 95%CI 1.87 to 14.46; p = 0.002). DISCUSSION: Attending a cardiac rehabilitation program after a cardiovascular event was associated with smoking cessation supporting its use as a platform for smoking cessation counseling and relapse prevention.

Employment status three years after percutaneous coronary intervention and predictors for being employed: A nationwide prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Vocational support is recommended for patients in cardiac rehabilitation (CR), as returning to work is important in patients social readjusting after an acute coronary event. Information is lacking on whether CR leads to higher long-term employment after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). AIMS: The aims of this study were to determine employment status three years after PCI, to compare employment status between CR participants and CR non-participants and to assess predictors for employment. METHODS: We included first-time PCI patients from the NorStent trial, who were of working age (<63 years; n = 2488) at a three-year follow-up. Employment status and CR participation were assessed using a self-report questionnaire. Propensity score method was used in comparing employment status of CR participants and CR non-participants. RESULTS: Seventy per cent of participants who were <60 years of age at the index event were employed at follow-up and CR participation had no effect on employment status. Being male, living with a partner and attaining higher levels of education were associated with a higher chance of being employed, while being older, prior cardiovascular morbidity and smoking status were associated with lower chance of being employed at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Because a significant number of working-age coronary heart disease patients are unemployed three years after coronary revascularization, updated incentives should be implemented to promote vocational support. Such programmes should focus on females, patients lacking higher education and patients who are living alone, as they are more likely to remain unemployed.

Clinical Efficacy of а Medical Centre- and Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program for Patients with Coronary Heart Disease After Coronary Bypass Graft Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Rehabilitation measures are crucial for maintaining clinical benefits of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. We evaluated the clinical efficacy of a medical centre- and home-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) for patients after CABG in an out-patient setting. METHODS: The study included 36 male patients 3-8 weeks after CABG that were randomly assigned to either study or control group. Patients from the study group performed a 60 min excercise in controlled setting 3 times a week for 4 months followed by home-based excercise later on, while patients from the control group only received a recommendation to perform the excercise at home in an uncontrolled setting. Total duration of the follow-up was 12 months. RESULTS: Physical endurance in the study group increased by 32.6% (p <0.05) in comparison to baseline after 4 months, and was maintained at this level after 12 months, while in the control group, an improvement of 9.8% (p <0.05) was observed after 12 months. Moreover, patients from the study group demonstrated a stable level of such risk factors as blood total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, while in the control group, these parameters increased by 10.2% (p <0.05) and 15.6% (p <0.05) respectively by the end of follow-up. Controlled medical centre-based exercise resulted in improvement of patients' quality of life and reduction of cardiovascular complications (11.1% against 39.2% in the control group). CONCLUSION: The integral (medical centre and home-based) stage III CR program after CABG helped reducing cardiovascular risk factors, and improved clinical parameters and functional capacity of patients.

Capacidade funcional em populações especiais antes e após cinesioterapia passiva e alongamento / Functional capacity in special populations before and after passive kinesiotherapy and stretching / Capacidad funcional en poblaciones especiales antes y después de la kinesioterapia pasiva y el estiramiento

Objetiva-se analisar a capacidade funcional antes e depois de um tratamento com cinesioterapia passiva e alongamento em populações especiais. Estudo de caso, exploratório, retrospectivo, com uma abordagem quantitativa dos dados. A amostra da pesquisa foi constituída por homens na faixa etária entre 60 a 76 anos de idade, sedentários, com coronariopatias e co-morbidades associadas. Foram analisadas as fichas de avaliação e da reavaliação realizadas com o Senior Fitness Test entre julho a agosto de 2017. A estatística foi realizada através do software SISVAR. As co-morbidades associadas mais frequentes foram: dislipidemia e Hipertensão Arterial Sistêmica. No teste T1, houve um aumento no número de repetições nos movimentos de sentar e levantar da cadeira nos participantes 3, 7 e 10. No T2, ocorreu uma melhora no movimento de flexão do antebraço nos participantes 7 e 8. No T3, os participantes 3, 9, e 10 apresentaram uma melhora na flexibilidade dos MMII. O T4 verificou que os participantes 3 e 7 foram melhores na velocidade, agilidade e equilíbrio dinâmico. O T5 confirmou que apenas o participante 8 apresentou resultados significativos quanto à flexibilidade dos MMSS. No T6 e T7, não houve diferença significativa entre paciente x tempo quanto à resistência aeróbica e IMC respectivamente após o tratamento. Os resultados do Senior Fitness Test em populações especiais parece ser uma ferramenta capaz de analisar individualmente as necessidades de cada participante de um protocolo com reabilitação cardíaca de forma segura e prática; no entanto, se faz necessária uma amostra mais significativa.

Objective: To analyze the functional capacity before and after a treatment with passive kinesiotherapy and stretching in special populations. Method: Exploratory, retrospective case study with a quantitative data approach.The research sample consisted of men in the age group between 60 and 76 years of age, sedentary, with coronary diseases and associated comorbidities. We analyzed the evaluation and revaluation sheets made with Senior Fitness Test between July and August 2017. The statistics were performed using the SISVAR software. Results: The most frequent associated comorbidities were: dyslipidemia and Systemic Arterial Hypertension. In the T1 test, there was an increase in the number of repetitions in the sit and stand movements in the participants 3, 7 and 10. In T2 there was an improvement in the movement of forearm flexion in participants 7 and 8. In T3 participants 3, 9, and 10 presented an improvement in the flexibility of LLLs. T4 found that participants 3 and 7 were better at speed, agility, and dynamic balance. The T5 confirmed that only the participant 8 presented significant results regarding the flexibility of the MMSS. At T6 and T7, there was no significant difference between patient and time for aerobic endurance and BMI respectively after treatment. Conclusion: The results of Senior Fitness Test in special populations seem to be a tool capable of analyzing individually the needs of each participant of a protocol with cardiac rehabilitation in a safe and practical way, however a more significant sample is necessary.

El objetivo es analizar la capacidad funcional antes y después de un tratamiento con kinesioterapia pasiva y estiramiento en poblaciones especiales. Estudio de caso, exploratorio, retrospectivo, con un enfoque cuantitativo de los datos. La muestra de investigación consistió en hombres sedentarios de 60 a 76 años, con enfermedades coronarias y comorbilidades asociadas. Se analizaron los formularios de evaluación y reevaluación realizados con la Prueba de aptitud física para adultos mayores entre julio y agosto de 2017. Las estadísticas se realizaron con el software SISVAR. Las comorbilidades asociadas más frecuentes fueron: dislipidemia e hipertensión arterial sistémica. En la prueba T1, hubo un aumento en el número de repeticiones en los movimientos de sentarse y levantarse de la silla en los participantes 3, 7 y 10. En T2, hubo una mejora en la flexión del antebrazo en los participantes 7 y 8. En T3, los participantes 3, 9 y 10 mostraron una mejora en la flexibilidad de las extremidades inferiores. T4 encontró que los participantes 3 y 7 fueron mejores en velocidad, agilidad y equilibrio dinámico. T5 confirmó que solo el participante 8 presentó resultados significativos con respecto a la flexibilidad del MMSS. En T6 y T7, no hubo diferencias significativas entre el paciente x el tiempo en términos de resistencia aeróbica e IMC respectivamente después del tratamiento. Los resultados del Senior Fitness Test en poblaciones especiales parecen ser una herramienta capaz de analizar individualmente las necesidades de cada participante en un protocolo con rehabilitación cardíaca de una manera segura y práctica; sin embargo, se necesita una muestra más significativa.

Adherence to lifestyle changes after coronary artery bypass graft: Outcome of preoperative peer education.

OBJECTIVE: This study was done to investigate the effect of preoperative peer education on patients' adherence to medication and lifestyle changes after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG). METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, the peers of CABG patients conducted preoperative educational sessions at the ward in groups of 4-5 (n = 36) while the control group (n = 34) received routine education by a nurse. Adherence of both groups to medication and recommendations for lifestyle modification including physical activity, smoking, and diet was measured one and two months after discharge. RESULTS: A multivariate analysis of co-variance showed the significant effect of peer education on adherence (F = 32.586, p < 0.001; η2 = 0.671). Univariate ANCOVA revealed a significant difference in adherence to diet between the two groups (F = 62.316, p = 0 0.0001; η2 = 0.482). Based on the repeated measures ANOVA, peer education significantly improved the CABG patients' adherence to diet (F = 55.373, p = 0.0001) and their total adherence (F = 9.911, p = 0.002) compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Preoperative peer education had a significant effect on improving CABG patients' adherence to lifestyle changes after hospital discharge. PRACTICE IMPLICATION: Peer education can be used as an effective method to improve the CABG patients ' adherence to lifestyle changes.

Interventions to promote patient utilisation of cardiac rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND: International clinical practice guidelines routinely recommend that cardiac patients participate in rehabilitation programmes for comprehensive secondary prevention. However, data show that only a small proportion of these patients utilise rehabilitation. OBJECTIVES: First, to assess interventions provided to increase patient enrolment in, adherence to, and completion of cardiac rehabilitation. Second, to assess intervention costs and associated harms, as well as interventions intended to promote equitable CR utilisation in vulnerable patient subpopulations. SEARCH METHODS: Review authors performed a search on 10 July 2018, to identify studies published since publication of the previous systematic review. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); the National Health Service (NHS) Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) databases (Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE)), in the Cochrane Library (Wiley); MEDLINE (Ovid); Embase (Elsevier); the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (EBSCOhost); and Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science (CPCI-S) on Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics). We checked the reference lists of relevant systematic reviews for additional studies and also searched two clinical trial registers. We applied no language restrictions. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in adults with myocardial infarction, with angina, undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery or percutaneous coronary intervention, or with heart failure who were eligible for cardiac rehabilitation. Interventions had to aim to increase utilisation of comprehensive phase II cardiac rehabilitation. We included only studies that measured one or more of our primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes were harms and costs, and we focused on equity. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently screened the titles and abstracts of all identified references for eligibility, and we obtained full papers of potentially relevant trials. Two review authors independently considered these trials for inclusion, assessed included studies for risk of bias, and extracted trial data independently. We resolved disagreements through consultation with a third review author. We performed random-effects meta-regression for each outcome and explored prespecified study characteristics. MAIN RESULTS: Overall, we included 26 studies with 5299 participants (29 comparisons). Participants were primarily male (64.2%). Ten (38.5%) studies included patients with heart failure. We assessed most studies as having low or unclear risk of bias. Sixteen studies (3164 participants) reported interventions to improve enrolment in cardiac rehabilitation, 11 studies (2319 participants) reported interventions to improve adherence to cardiac rehabilitation, and seven studies (1567 participants) reported interventions to increase programme completion. Researchers tested a variety of interventions to increase utilisation of cardiac rehabilitation. In many studies, this consisted of contacts made by a healthcare provider during or shortly after an acute care hospitalisation.Low-quality evidence shows an effect of interventions on increasing programme enrolment (19 comparisons; risk ratio (RR) 1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13 to 1.42). Meta-regression revealed that the intervention deliverer (nurse or allied healthcare provider; P = 0.02) and the delivery format (face-to-face; P = 0.01) were influential in increasing enrolment. Low-quality evidence shows interventions to increase adherence were effective (nine comparisons; standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.38, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.55), particularly when they were delivered remotely, such as in home-based programs (SMD 0.56, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.76). Moderate-quality evidence shows interventions to increase programme completion were also effective (eight comparisons; RR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.25), but those applied in multi-centre studies were less effective than those given in single-centre studies, leading to questions regarding generalisability. A moderate level of statistical heterogeneity across intervention studies reflects heterogeneity in intervention approaches. There was no evidence of small-study bias for enrolment (insufficient studies to test for this in the other outcomes).With regard to secondary outcomes, no studies reported on harms associated with the interventions. Only two studies reported costs. In terms of equity, trialists tested interventions designed to improve utilisation among women and older patients. Evidence is insufficient for quantitative assessment of whether women-tailored programmes were associated with increased utilisation, and studies that assess motivating women are needed. For older participants, again while quantitative assessment could not be undertaken, peer navigation may improve enrolment. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Interventions may increase cardiac rehabilitation enrolment, adherence and completion; however the quality of evidence was low to moderate due to heterogeneity of the interventions used, among other factors. Effects on enrolment were larger in studies targeting healthcare providers, training nurses, or allied healthcare providers to intervene face-to-face; effects on adherence were larger in studies that tested remote interventions. More research is needed, particularly to discover the best ways to increase programme completion.

Telehealth interventions for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

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 aimed 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. METHODS: Relevant randomized controlled trials evaluating telehealth interventions in CHD patients with at least three months' follow-up compared with cardiac rehabilitation and/or usual care were identified by searching electronic databases. We checked reference lists, relevant conference lists, grey literature and keyword searching of the Internet. Main outcomes included all-cause mortality, rehospitalization/cardiac events and modifiable risk factors. (PROSPERO registration number 77507.). RESULTS: In total, 32 papers reporting 30 unique trials were identified. Telehealth was not significant associated with a lower all-cause mortality than cardiac rehabilitation and/or usual care (risk ratio (RR)=0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.86 to 1.24, p=0.42). Telehealth was significantly associated with lower rehospitalization or cardiac events (RR=0.56, 95% CI=0.39 to 0.81, p<0.0001) compared with non-intervention groups. There was a significantly lower weighted mean difference (WMD) at medium to long-term follow-up than comparison groups for total cholesterol (WMD= -0.26 mmol/l, 95% CI= -0.4 to -0.11, p <0.001), low-density lipoprotein (WMD= -0.28, 95% CI = -0.50 to -0.05, p=0.02) and smoking status (RR=0.77, 95% CI =0.59 to 0.99, p=0.04]. CONCLUSIONS: Telehealth interventions with a range of delivery modes could be offered to patients who cannot attend cardiac rehabilitation, or as an adjunct to cardiac rehabilitation for effective secondary prevention.

Influence of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation on Lung Function in Patients After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery.

Coronary heart disease is the most common cardiovascular disease. Primary prevention, medication, and invasive approach, along with the coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), are used in cardiovascular prophylaxis. Pulmonary rehabilitation, whose main task is to restore the patient's optimum efficiency and prevent complications of the respiratory system, particularly resulting from limited physical activity and immobilization, plays an important role in the postsurgical treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence on lung function of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) vs. standard physiotherapy in patients undergoing CABG surgery. The study included 42 patients scheduled for surgery, divided into PNF (n = 22; aged 62.3 ± 8.4) and standard rehabilitation (n = 20; aged 62.0 ± 7.4) groups. The findings demonstrate a decrease in post-surgery lung function in both groups. The increased ratios of FEV1/FVC and RV%TLC speak for a transient postoperative disturbance in lung function after surgery of restrictive character, accompanied by air trapping. We found a gradual improvement after 2 months of home rehabilitation, with a significant trend for a better outcome using PNF. We conclude that PNF holds a potential for optimizing the outcome of pulmonary rehabilitation after coronary bypass surgery.

Factors Associated With Cardiorespiratory Fitness at Completion of Cardiac Rehabilitation: Identification of Specific Patient Features Requiring Attention.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine and compare predictors of postcardiac rehabilitation (CR) cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), improvements in a large cohort of subjects with varying baseline CRF levels completing CR for ischemic heart disease and to refine prediction models further by baseline CRF. METHODS: The Alberta Provincial Project for Outcomes Assessment in Coronary Heart disease (APPROACH) and TotalCardiology (TotalCardiology, Inc, Calgary, Alberta, Canada) databases were used retrospectively to obtain information on 10,732 (1955 [18.2%] female; mean age 60.4, standard deviation [SD] 10.5 years) subjects who completed the 12-week comprehensive CR program between 1996 and 2016. Peak metabolic equivalents (METs) were determined at program start and completion and identified patients at baseline with low fitness (L-Fit) (< 5 METs), moderate fitness (M-Fit, 5-8 METs), or high fitness (H-Fit, > 8 METs). Multivariable linear regression models were developed to predict METs at completion of the program. RESULTS: Across all fitness groups, mean baseline METs was the strongest predictor of CRF at completion of CR. Other factors-including sex, age, current smoking status, obesity, and diabetes-were highly predictive of post-CR CRF (all P < 0.05). Compared with H-fit patients, coronary artery bypass graft and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in L-Fit patients, and cerebrovascular disease in M-Fit patients had an additional negative effect on the overall model variance in post-CR CRF. CONCLUSION: Expected CRF at the end of CR is highly predictable, with several key patient factors being clear determinants of CRF. Although most identified patient factors are not modifiable, our analysis highlights populations that may require extra attention over the course of CR to attain maximal benefit.

Cardiac rehabilitation after percutaneous coronary intervention: Results from a nationwide survey.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to estimate the proportion of Norwegian coronary heart disease patients participating in cardiac rehabilitation programmes after percutaneous coronary intervention, and to determine predictors of cardiac rehabilitation participation. METHODS: Participants were patients enrolled in the Norwegian Coronary Stent Trial. We assessed cardiac rehabilitation participation in 9013 of these patients who had undergone their first percutaneous coronary intervention during 2008-2011. Of these, 7068 patients (82%) completed a self-administered questionnaire on cardiac rehabilitation participation within three years after their percutaneous coronary intervention. RESULTS: Twenty-eight per cent of the participants reported engaging in cardiac rehabilitation. Participation rate differed among the four regional health authorities in Norway, varying from 20%-31%. Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for an acute coronary syndrome were more likely to participate in cardiac rehabilitation than patients with stable angina (odds ratio 3.2; 95% confidence interval 2.74-3.76). A multivariate statistical model revealed that men had a 28% lower probability ( p<0.001) of participating in cardiac rehabilitation, and the odds of attending cardiac rehabilitation decreased with increasing age ( p<0.001). Contributors to higher odds of cardiac rehabilitation participation were educational level >12 years (odds ratio 1.50; 95% confidence interval 1.32-1.71) and body mass index>25 (odds ratio 1.19; 95% confidence interval 1.05-1.36). Prior coronary artery bypass graft was associated with lower odds of cardiac rehabilitation participation (odds ratio 0.47; 95% confidence interval 0.32-0.70) Conclusion: The estimated cardiac rehabilitation participation rate among patients undergoing first-time percutaneous coronary intervention is low in Norway. The typical participant is young, overweight, well-educated, and had an acute coronary event. These results varied by geographical region.

Exercise Benefits Coronary Heart Disease.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a group of diseases that include: no symptoms, angina, myocardial infarction, ischemia cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death. And it results from multiple risks factors consisting of invariable factors (e.g. age, gender, etc.) and variable factors (e.g. dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, etc.). Meanwhile, CHD could cause impact not only localized in the heart, but also on pulmonary function, whole-body skeletal muscle function, activity ability, psychological status, etc. Nowadays, CHD has been the leading cause of death in the world. However, many clinical researches showed that exercise training plays an important role in cardiac rehabilitation and can bring a lot of benefits for CHD patients.

Gender and age-dependent differences in body composition changes in response to cardiac rehabilitation exercise training in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is the standard procedure in persons after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Its basic aim is to combat coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors through physical activity and normalization of body mass. Many authors highlight the differences in response to training in CR as dependent on gender, age and occurrence of accompanying disease. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a three-week early CR in reference to changing body composition parameters in patients over 50 years of age. The study involved a random group of 65 patients (44 men and 21 women) between the ages of 50-76 (average: 62.6 ± 7.2) years with CHD following CABG. Anthropometric and body composition (bioelectrical impedance method) measurements were taken at the commencement of CR and after the training programme. After CR, body mass and body mass index were reduced in men < 65 and ≥ 65 years, and in women <65 years. A reduction % body fat and increase % fat free mass and % total body water was observed only in patients <65. years. Furthermore, in men < 65 years, an increase in % body cell mass was observed. In women ≥ 65 years, no statistically significant changes were observed in body fat indices and body composition features between initial and final study. Patients ≥ 65 years of age following surgery over a period of hospital cardiac rehabilitation do not experience the same significant improvement in body composition parameters associated with risk of CHD as middle-aged adults. Older women post-cardiac surgery are characterized by a higher disability index in relation to tolerance to physical stress in comparison with men of the same age and persons < 65 years of age.

Frequency and predictors of non-adherence to lifestyle modifications and medications after coronary artery bypass grafting: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Non-adherence to dietary recommendations, exercise and prescribed drug regimens, in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), is a major health care issue worldwide. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the frequency and predictors of non-adherence to lifestyle changes and medication among CHD patients after undergoing CABG surgery. METHOD: The sample of this cross sectional descriptive study was 265 patients who underwent isolated primary CABG. Participants who met the eligibility criteria were provided with a pre-coded questionnaire 4 weeks or more after surgery. Adherence was assessed on the basis of patient's self-report. Significance of results was analyzed using Chi square test. RESULTS: Roughly half of the patients were non-adherent to dietary recommendations (n=120, 45.3%) and exercise (n=109, 41.1%) while about one third (n=69, 26%) were non-adherent to prescribed medications. Unwillingness to adopt a new lifestyle and more than one social gathering per week, were found to be statistically significant predictors of non-adherence to diet (p-values<0.001). Reluctance to follow exercise regimen, busy schedule, and fear that exercise will aggravate heart issues were commonly reported as reasons for non-compliance to exercise. As for non-adherence to medication, forgetfulness, affordability of drugs and too many medications to take were important predictors. CONCLUSION: Non-adherence to lifestyle modifications and medication is an emerging problem worldwide. It is essential for medical health professionals to discuss these predictors and address them individually. Our findings highlight the need for a healthy physician and patient relationship.

Relation between serum myokines and phase II cardiac rehabilitation.

Patients with coronary heart disease or acute myocardial infarction after cardiac catheterization with stenting referred for phase II cardiac rehabilitation (CR) were grouped according to their preference. Cardio-pulmonary exercise testing (CPET) was used to determine oxygen uptake ((Equation is included in full-text article.)) at peak exercise and anaerobic threshold (AT). The control patients received counseling only while the experiment group received 36 sessions of CR in 3 to 6 months. Exercise physiology parameters and serum myokines (myostatin, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured pre- and postrehabilitation.There were 29 patients in the experiment group and 10 in the control group, with no significant differences in baseline parameters. The experiment group had prominent progress in aerobic capacity and body composition after CR, but their serum myokine concentrations did not change significantly. Serum myostatin is positively correlated to peak (Equation is included in full-text article.)pre- and post-training, and pretraining AT (Equation is included in full-text article.), after adjusting for age, sex, and body composition. Serum IGF-1 is positively correlated with grip strength before training.Serum myostatin level is positively correlated to aerobic capacity, and IGF-1 level is positively correlated to grip strength in cardiac patients receiving CR.