Implementation and Impact of Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation in a Veterans Affair Medical Center

Abstract

In patients with prior myocardial infarction (MI), cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been shown to reduce all-cause mortality, cardiac mortality, and risk of recurrent MI. Medically supervised cardiac rehab has challenges such as increased patient and center cost, patient transportation issues, patient time commitment, and increased need for resources. Home-based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) is an innovative alternative to medically supervised CR which can help to address some of the aforementioned issues. HBCR has been shown to have similar patient outcomes when compared to medically supervised CR; however, implantation efforts and experiences within Veteran Affair (VA) facilities were limited. Thus, we sought to describe our implementation efforts and outcomes of HBCR at our VA medical center, since our VA medical center does not offer an on-site medically supervised CR program. The project was not reviewed by our institutional review board as this quality improvement project was determined by our VA medical service chief to not qualify as human subjects research. Veterans eligible for CR in our VA medical system were enrolled in a 12-week HBCR program. Veterans performed exercise training at home with equipment provided at no cost. In addition, participating veterans received nutrition counseling, smoking cessation encouragement, stress management, and psychosocial consultation through weekly telephone calls performed by registered nurses. Progress was measured using Life's Simple 7, Duke Activity status index, 6-minute walk test, and Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) before and after HBCR. Medical records were monitored for death, MI, and readmission to the hospital for CHF within the VA medical system for 1year after the program was complete. SAS and R were used for data input and analysis. Data from 213 veterans were available for analysis and 136 of these veterans completed the HBCR program; the 95 veterans who did not complete the program either declined enrollment, discontinued follow-up with this program, or failed to actively participate and thus were removed from the program. Veterans who completed the 12-week HBCR program reported significant improvement, when compared before and after HBCR program, in Simple 7, Duke Activity status index metabolic equivalent of tasks, 6-minute walk test, SF-36 physical functioning, SF-36 bodily pain, and SF-36 vitality. Overall survival and recurrent MIs were similar between the veterans who completed and the veterans who did not complete the HBCR program in the 1year follow-up. Hospital admission for heart failure in the 1-year follow-up was lower among veterans who completed the HBCR program when compared to the veterans who did not complete the HBCR program. HBCR is an effective alternative to facility-based CR. Veterans who completed the program showed improvement in physical capacity and functional status. Compared to those who were eligible but did not complete the program, hospitalization for heart failure was reduced after completing HBCR.