Feasibility and effectiveness of cardiac telerehabilitation for older adults with coronary heart disease patients: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Background Cardiac rehabilitation is a standard and multidisciplinary treatment of exercise promotion, patient education, risk factor management, and psychosocial counseling for people with coronary heart disease (CHD) that is underutilized due to disparities in access, referral, and participation. Empirical studies suggest that cardiac telerehabilitation (CTR) have safety and efficacy comparable to traditional in-person CR, however, older adults are under-reported with effectiveness, feasibility, and usability of CTR for this population remains unclear . Purpose This study investigates the effects, usability, and feasibility of 12-week CTR on health outcomes of older people with CHD. Design A pilot randomized controlled trial with qualitative process evaluation. Methods The study randomized 43 older adults with CHD to the 12-week CTR intervention or usual care. Guided by Social Cognitive Theory, intervention group participants received individualized in-person assessment and orientation session, followed by CTR usage at home. Participants were encouraged to visit the CR website for self-learning and data uploading, use the pedometer for daily step tracking, and chat with peers and CR nurse 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 CTR intervention group showed significant improvement in daily steps (T1: β=4126.58, p=0.001; T2: β=5285, p=0.01) and health-promoting lifestyle profile (T1: β= 23.26, p<.001; T2: β=12.18, p=0.008) across study endpoints. No significant difference was observed regarding self-efficacy, quality of life, psychological symptoms, and body weight and blood pressure. Twenty participants completed the intervention, with 100% used social media for tele-consultation, 90% used the pedometer for tele-monitoring, 40% (n=8) used the website. Improving awareness on rehabilitation and a clear action focus were considered as key enablers while physical discomforts and difficulties in using the technology were described as main barriers. Conclusions The CTR is effective in improving physical activity and healthy behaviors for older adults. Considering the variation in individual cardiovascular risk factors, full-scale RCT with larger sample is needed to determine the effect of CTR on psychological symptoms, body weight and blood pressure, and quality of life. Strategies to improve user intervention usage is needed.