Abstract 12543: Smartphone Delivered Cardiac Rehab for Heart Failure Management: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

Background: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the leading cause of hospitalization. Exercise training and self-care counseling through cardiac rehab (CR) benefits CHF patients by increasing exercise tolerance, improving clinical symptoms and reducing risk of future clinical events. However, CR programs are severely underutilized due to high insurance co-pays and issues with access. Remote CR programs delivered through patients’ smartphones show promise in addressing this gap. We studied the feasibility of utilizing a mobile application to implement a home-based cardiac rehab program for CHF patients. Methods: Ten consecutive ambulatory patients with a prior history of CHF and an Android smartphone downloaded and received training for the cardiac rehab smartphone application. The application engaged the patient to complete daily tasks at home. Data were wirelessly collected for 14 days. Metrics evaluated included passively collected activity (minutes), compliance to weight & blood pressure tracking and viewing of educational tasks. Patient on-boarding time was also tracked. Results: A broad range of patients were included in the study (Table 1); 20% were inotrope dependent. On-boarding took an average of 15 minutes. Table 1 summarizes results. Participants met minimum recommended daily activity (30 minutes) an average of 8±5 days in the 14 day period. Four participants entered vital sign values only in the office, possibility indicating lack of equipment at home. Conclusion: A smartphone-based remote cardiac rehab is feasible and useful in a fairly ill population. Minimum daily activity can be achieved and education content can be effectively delivered. However, results indicate the need to engage participants more to complete educational tasks. Participants need to be provided scales and blood pressure cuffs to track vital signs at home. Further study is warranted to assess the effect of this application on functional capacity and symptoms.