Abstract
Background:Telehealth strategies are increasingly used to support people at high cardiovascular risk long-term, but is it unclear if these interventions are effective at improving cardiovascular risk.Objective:To evaluate the effects of a telemedicine technology-based program on risk factor control and body composition in patients at high cardiovascular risk.Methods:This is a population based randomized controlled trial. 100 patients at high and very high cardiovascular risk were randomly assigned to a telemedicine technology-based program consisting of: Comprehensive counseling on risk factors delivered by a physician; biweekly remote support via phone delivered by a trained nurse during the first three months after enrollment; and a control group receiving routine care with individual single-session counseling on patients’ current risk factors without further support. The follow-up period was 1 year.Results:Mean age of participants was 59.9 ± 4.5 years, 80% were women. Weight (–0.582; p < 0.001), waist circumference (–0.429; p = 0.01), body mass index (–0.216; p < 0.001) diastolic blood pressure (–0.881; p = 0.04), total cholesterol (–0.149; p = 0.01) and LDL cholesterol (–0.123; p = 0.003) were lower in the intervention group compared to the control group after 12-month. Body fat mass was also lower (–0.352; p = 0.01) and lean mass was higher (0.92; p = 0.03) in the intervention group. Anxiety scores (–2.5; p < 0.002) and depression scores (–2.6; p < 0.001) were also lower in the intervention group.Conclusions:Among older people at high cardiovascular risk, the addition of telehealth strategies using remote support by phone calls over a period of 3 month resulted in small but significant improvements of cardiovascular risk factors, body composition, anxiety, and depression which are maintained long-term. Such telehealth strategies may offer an advantage over standard institution-based interventions.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in most countries around the world including Russia [1]
We examined the effect of a telemedicine technology-based program on patients’ cardiovascular risk profile and body composition
Participants assigned to the intervention group received comprehensive counseling on risk factors–with a main focus on nutrition–delivered by a physician followed by biweekly remote support by phone provided by a trained nurse during the first three months after enrollment
Summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in most countries around the world including Russia [1]. Objective: To evaluate the effects of a telemedicine technology-based program on risk factor control and body composition in patients at high cardiovascular risk. Conclusions: Among older people at high cardiovascular risk, the addition of telehealth strategies using remote support by phone calls over a period of 3 month resulted in small but significant improvements of cardiovascular risk factors, body composition, anxiety, and depression which are maintained long-term. Such telehealth strategies may offer an advantage over standard institution-based interventions
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