Cardiac Rehabilitation Archives

Feasibility of an Integrated Digital and Pharmacological Approach Targeting Blood Lipids in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Management

Announcing a new article publication for Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications journal. Strong evidence supports the importance of lipid-lowering and exercise therapies in the long-term therapy of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Establishing efficient comprehensive intervention programs that combine pharmacological and exercise prescription is crucial to investigate with the aid of digital technologies.

A convenience sample of 25 ASCVD patients (57.8 ± 9.5 years, 76% males) was gathered. All participants were prescribed with 12-week home exercise program supervised by an app and bimonthly 75mg alirocumab subcutaneous injections. Follow up visits were scheduled at the end of 4th and 12th week.

Nineteen participants completed the program with a retention rate of 76%. Sixteen (84.2%) participants received all six doses of alirocumab. The total management time of the 12-week program added up to 65.47 minutes per patient. Satisfaction score was 4.2 ± 0.6 and the User Version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS) overall objective quality score on the app was 3.4 ± 0.7. At the 4-week and 12-week follow-ups, LDL-C levels reduced compared to baseline (−1.5 ± 0.8 mmol/L, P < 0.001, −1.6 ± 0.8 mmol/L, P < 0.001, respectively), along with TC (−1.8 ± 1.2 mmol/L, P < 0.001, −1.6 ± 1.3 mmol/L, P < 0.001, respectively), but not TG, HDL-C, GAD-7 and PHQ-9.

The integrated pharmaceutical and digital ERx intervention program was feasible and well accepted in ASCVD patients.

https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/CVIA.2024.0002

CVIA is available on the ScienceOpen platform and at Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications. Submissions may be made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. There are no author submission or article processing fees. Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications is indexed in the EMBASE, EBSCO, ESCI, OCLC, Primo Central (Ex Libris), Sherpa Romeo, NISC (National Information Services Corporation), DOAJ, Index Copernicus, Research4Life and Ulrich’s web Databases. Follow CVIA on Twitter @CVIA_Journal; or Facebook.

Xu Yi, Qiu Weiyu and Li Yan et al. Feasibility of an Integrated Digital and Pharmacological Approach Targeting Blood Lipids in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Management. CVIA. 2024. Vol. 9(1). DOI: 10.15212/CVIA.2024.0002

Research Progress in Heart Rate Variability Applications in Exercise Rehabilitation for Cardiovascular Diseases

Announcing a new article publication for Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications journal. Heart rate variability (HRV) is an important marker for assessing the balance of the autonomic nervous system and clinical prognosis, because it can be non-invasively and easily measured, and the results are accurate and valuable. HRV is widely applied in cardiovascular disease fields. Exercise training is an important part of cardiac rehabilitation. Personalized sports rehabilitation therapy can effectively prevent the emergence of cardiovascular diseases, decrease the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events, and ameliorate dysfunction, as well as limitations in life, work, and social participation, caused by adverse cardiovascular events. However, sports rehabilitation can have drawbacks, in that improper training can cause injury, excessive fatigue, or even harmful cardiovascular events. To support future applications, this article reviews recent applications of HRV in sports rehabilitation for cardiovascular diseases.

https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/CVIA.2023.0071

CVIA is available on the ScienceOpen platform and at Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications. Submissions may be made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. There are no author submission or article processing fees. Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications is indexed in the EMBASE, EBSCO, ESCI, OCLC, Primo Central (Ex Libris), Sherpa Romeo, NISC (National Information Services Corporation), DOAJ, Index Copernicus, Research4Life and Ulrich’s web Databases. Follow CVIA on Twitter @CVIA_Journal; or Facebook.

Zhaoxin Zhu, Jianying Shen and Yan Zhang et al. Research Progress in Heart Rate Variability Applications in Exercise Rehabilitation for Cardiovascular Diseases. CVIA. 2023. Vol. 8(1). DOI: 10.15212/CVIA.2023.0071

Access to Cardiac Rehabilitation: Hurdles and Hopes for Improvement

Announcing a new article publication for Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications journal.

Consistent evidence gathered over many years supports the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation, including decreases in mortality and hospitalizations, and increase in quality of life. In one study of 601,099 Medicare patients older than 65 years with coronary disease, 5-year mortality was lower in patients who participated in cardiac rehabilitation than those who did not (16.3% versus 24.6%, respectively, P < 0.0001). Another study has shown significantly fewer hospitalizations for heart failure among patients who participated in cardiac rehabilitation than those who did not: the patients who underwent cardiac rehabilitation had 11 admissions for a total of 41 hospitalized days over a 24 week period, whereas those who did not had 33 admissions for a total of 187 hospitalized days (P < 0.001). The clinical benefits of cardiac rehabilitation, as documented in both young and older participants, include increased exercise capacity, energy and total quality of life.

Although cardiac rehabilitation is a class 1 indication for patients who have sustained acute coronary syndrome as well as those with heart failure, it is grossly underused. In one study, only 24.4% of a cohort of 366,103 Medicare patients with a qualifying diagnosis for cardiac rehabilitation assessed from 2016 to 2017 participated in cardiac rehabilitation. Of those who participated, only 26.9% completed the program. A closer evaluation of the barriers preventing referral, enrolment and completion of cardiac rehabilitation is needed to better understand the limitations and to promote solutions to these problems.

https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/CVIA.2023.0074

CVIA is available on the ScienceOpen platform and at Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications. Submissions may be made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. There are no author submission or article processing fees. Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications is indexed in the EMBASE, EBSCO, ESCI, OCLC, Primo Central (Ex Libris), Sherpa Romeo, NISC (National Information Services Corporation), DOAJ, Index Copernicus, Research4Life and Ulrich’s web Databases. Follow CVIA on Twitter @CVIA_Journal; or Facebook.

Natalie J. Bracewell and Ellen C. Keeley. Access to Cardiac Rehabilitation: Hurdles and Hopes for Improvement. CVIA. 2023. Vol. 8(1). DOI: 10.15212/CVIA.2023.0074