A nurse-led cardiac rehabilitation programme improves health behaviours and cardiac physiological risk parameters: evidence from Chengdu, China. Home-based versus hospital-based rehabilitation after myocardial infarction: A randomized trial with preference arms--Cornwall Heart Attack Rehabilitation Management Study (CHARMS). Guideline-based early rehabilitation after myocardial infarction. A pragmatic randomised controlled trial. The Birmingham Rehabilitation Uptake Maximisation Study (BRUM). Home-based compared with hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation in a multi-ethnic population: cost-effectiveness and patient adherence. Adherence to a Very Low Fat Diet for Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients. Effectiveness of three models for comprehensive cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Randomised controlled trial of cardiac rehabilitation in elderly patients with heart failure. A controlled trial of community based coronary rehabilitation. Effects of a CHANGE intervention to increase exercise maintenance following cardiac events.
The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a cardiac rehabilitation programme on health behaviours and physiological risk parameters in patients with coronary heart disease in Chengdu, China.
                Epidemiological studies indicate a dose-, level- and duration-dependent relationship exists between cardiac behavioural and physiological risks and coronary heart disease incidence as well as subsequent cardiac morbidity and mortality. Cardiac risk factor modification has become the very primary goal of modern cardiac rehabilitation programmes.
                A randomized controlled trial was conducted. Coronary heart disease patients (n = 167) who met the sampling criteria in two tertiary medical centres in Chengdu, south-west China, were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (the cardiac rehabilitation programme) or control group (the routine care). The change of health behaviours (walking performance, step II diet adherence, medication adherence, smoking cessation) and physiological risk parameters (serum lipids, blood pressure, body weight) were assessed to evaluate the programme effect.
                Patients in the intervention group demonstrated a significantly better performance in walking, step II diet adherence, medication adherence; a significantly greater reduction in serum lipids including triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein; and significantly better control of systolic and diastolic blood pressure at three months. The majority of these positive impacts were maintained at six months. The effect of the programme on smoking cessation, body weight, serum high-density lipoprotein, was not confirmed.
                A cardiac rehabilitation programme led by a nurse can significantly improve the health behaviours and cardiac physiological risk parameters in coronary heart disease patients. Nurses can fill significant treatment gaps in the risk factor management of patients with coronary heart disease.
                This study raises attention regarding the important roles nurses can play in cardiac rehabilitation and the unique way for nurses to meet the rehabilitative care needs of coronary heart disease patients. Furthermore, the hospital-home bridging nature of the programme also created a model for interfacing the acute care and community rehabilitative care. Participation in cardiac rehabilitation after acute myocardial infarction is sub-optimal. Offering home-based rehabilitation may improve uptake. We report the first randomized study of cardiac rehabilitation to include patient preference.
                To compare the clinical effectiveness of a home-based rehabilitation with hospital-based rehabilitation after myocardial infarction and to determine whether patient choice affects clinical outcomes.
                Pragmatic randomized controlled trial with patient preference arms.
                Rural South West England.
                Patients admitted with uncomplicated myocardial infarction were offered hospital-based rehabilitation classes over 8-10 weeks or a self-help package of six weeks' duration (the Heart Manual) supported by a nurse. Primary outcomes at 9 months were mean depression and anxiety scores on the Hospital Anxiety Depression scale, quality of life after myocardial infarction (MacNew) score and serum total cholesterol.
                Of the 230 patients who agreed to participate, 104 (45%) consented to randomization and 126 (55%) chose their rehabilitation programme. Nine month follow-up data were available for 84/104 (81%) randomized and 100/126 (79%) preference patients. At follow-up no difference was seen in the change in mean depression scores between the randomized home and hospital-based groups (mean difference: 0; 95% confidence interval, -1.12 to 1.12) nor mean anxiety score (-0.07; -1.42 to 1.28), mean global MacNew score (0.14; -0.35 to 0.62) and mean total cholesterol levels (-0.18; -0.62 to 0.27). Neither were there any significant differences in outcomes between the preference groups.
                Home-based cardiac rehabilitation with the Heart Manual was as effective as hospital-based rehabilitation for patients after myocardial infarction. Choosing a rehabilitation programme did not significantly affect clinical outcomes. To determine the effectiveness of individualised educational behavioural treatment delivered by cardiac nurses in hospital compared to usual care for patients following acute myocardial infarction.
                One hundred and fourteen consecutive patients were randomised to receive the intervention or usual care. Outcome assessment was by self-report questionnaire (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Dartmouth COOP Health Status), interview at 1 month, and self-report at 3 and 12 months. The primary outcome was improvement in the Dartmouth COOP total score from baseline to 3 months.
                Four patients needed to be treated to give an additional patient with improvement in health status at 3 months (number needed to treat [NNT] 4, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] 3 to 12). The intervention group were more confident about returning to activities 1 month after discharge from hospital. Treated patients had fewer further treatment needs.
                An individualised educational behavioural treatment delivered by cardiac nurses in hospital may have substantial benefits. A large-scale pragmatic RCT is needed. To evaluate the relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a home-based programme of cardiac rehabilitation using the Heart Manual, with centre-based programmes. It also sought to explore the reasons for non-adherence to cardiac rehabilitation programmes.
                An individually randomised trial, with minimisation for age, gender, ethnicity, initial diagnosis and hospital of recruitment. Participants were followed up after 6, 12 and 24 months by questionnaire and clinical assessment. Individual semistructured interviews were undertaken in the homes of a purposive sample of patients who did not adhere to their allocated programme, and focus groups were undertaken with groups of patients who adhered to the programmes.
                Four hospitals in predominantly inner-city, multi-ethnic, socio-economically deprived areas of the West Midlands in England, for 2 years from 1 February 2002.
                A total of 525 patients who had experienced a myocardial infarction (MI) or coronary revascularisation within the previous 12 weeks.
                All the rehabilitation programmes included exercise, relaxation, education and lifestyle counselling. All patients were seen by a cardiac rehabilitation nurse prior to hospital discharge and provided with information about their condition and counselling about risk factor modification. The four centre-based programmes varied in length from nine sessions at weekly intervals of education, relaxation and circuit training to 24 individualised sessions over 12 weeks of mainly walking, fixed cycling and rowing with group-based education. The home-based programme consisted of an appropriate version of the Heart Manual, home visits and telephone contact. The Heart Manual was introduced to patients on an individual basis, either in hospital or on a home visit. Home visits by a nurse took place at approximately 1, 6 and 12 weeks after recruitment, with a telephone call at 3 weeks. At the final visit, patients were encouraged to maintain their lifestyle changes and to continue with their exercise programme. Where needed, follow-up was made by a rehabilitation nurse who spoke Punjabi. An audiotape of an abridged version of the Heart Manual in Punjabi accompanied the manual for patients with a limited command of English.
                Primary outcomes were smoking cessation, blood pressure, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, exercise capacity measured by the incremental shuttle walking test and psychological status measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Secondary outcomes included self-reported diet, physical activity, cardiac symptoms and quality of life. Health service resource use and costs of rehabilitation programmes from health service and societal perspectives were also measured. Adherence to the physical activity element of the rehabilitation programmes was measured by questionnaire 6, 9 and 12 weeks.
                No clinically or statistically significant differences were found in any of the primary or secondary outcome measures between the home- and centre-based groups. Significant improvements in total cholesterol, smoking prevalence, the HADS anxiety score, self-reported physical activity and diet were seen in both arms between baseline and the 6-month follow-up. Five or more contacts with a cardiac rehabilitation nurse were received by 96% of home-based participants, whereas only 56% of centre-based participants attended this many rehabilitation classes. The direct rehabilitation costs to the health service were significantly higher for the home-based programme (mean cost 198 pounds versus 157 pounds for the centre-based programme), but when patient costs were included the mean cost of the centre-based arm rose to 182 pounds. Patients' reasons for not taking up or adhering to cardiac rehabilitation were multifactorial and very individual. Other health problems limited some patients' ability to exercise. Most non-adherers found some aspects of their cardiac rehabilitation programme helpful. Many had adapted advice on rehabilitation and were continuing to exercise in other ways and had made lifestyle changes, particularly to their diet. The home-based patients' lack of motivation to exercise on their own at home was a major factor in non-adherence. The focus groups revealed little diversity of views among patients from each programme. Patients in the hospital programme enjoyed the camaraderie of group exercise and the home-based patients valued the wealth of information and advice in the Heart Manual.
                A home-based cardiac rehabilitation programme for low- to moderate-risk patients does not produce inferior outcomes compared with the traditional centre-based programmes. With the level of home visiting in this trial, the home-based programme was more costly to the health service, but with the difference in costs borne by patients attending centre-based programmes. Different reasons were given by home and hospital cardiac rehabilitation patients for not taking up or adhering to cardiac rehabilitation, with home-based patients often citing a lack of motivation to exercise at home. Social characteristics, individual patient needs and the location of cardiac rehabilitation programmes need to be taken into account in programme design to maximise participation. Research is recommended into cardiac rehabilitation in patients from ethnic minority groups; measurement tools to assess physical activity and dietary change; evaluating the Heart Manual in patients who decline centre-based cardiac rehabilitation; the implementation of home-based programmes in the UK; and strategies that sustain physical activity in the long term. Diets encouraging 10% or less fat energy intake have been advocated to prevent progression of coronary artery disease. In this study, a randomized, controlled, repeated measures experimental design was used to determine if reducing fat intake incrementally to an eventual goal of 10% of total energy intake would result in better dietary adherence than would an immediate reduction to 10%. After completing a lifestyle education program and receiving personal dietary counselling, volunteers recruited from a cardiac rehabilitation program (treatment group, n = 4; control group, n = 3) completed a 24-hour recall at two, four, and seven months post-intervention. At these intervals, subjects also spoke with the dietitian to set dietary targets for the incremental reduction group or reinforce them for the immediate reduction group. Neither group achieved the goal of reducing fat intake to 10% of total energy intake, a finding that suggests this may be an unrealistic target. Because both groups consumed about the same percentage of fat energy, there appeared to be no benefit from incremental reduction of fat intake as a strategy to improve dietary adherence. Cost and accessibility contribute to low participation rates in phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation programs in the United States. In this study, we compared the clinical effectiveness of 2 less costly and potentially more accessible approaches to cardiovascular risk reduction with that of a contemporary phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation program. Low- or moderate-risk patients (n = 155) with coronary artery disease (CAD) were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of participation in a contemporary phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation program (n = 52), a physician supervised, nurse-case-managed cardiovascular risk reduction program (n = 54), or a community-based cardiovascular risk reduction program administered by exercise physiologists guided by a computerized participant management system based on national clinical guidelines (n = 49). In all, 142 patients (91.6%) completed testing at baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention. For patients with abnormal (i.e., not at the goal level) baseline values, statistically significant (p < or =0.05) improvements were observed with all 3 interventions for multiple CAD risk factors. No statistically significant risk factor differences were observed among the 3 programs. For patients with a baseline maximal oxygen uptake < 7 metabolic equivalents, cardiorespiratory fitness increased to a greater degree in patients in the cardiac rehabilitation program and the community-based program versus the physician-supervised, nurse- case-managed program. These data have important implications for cost containment and increasing accessibility to clinically effective comprehensive cardiovascular risk reduction services in low- or moderate-risk patients with CAD. Heart failure, a condition predominantly affecting the elderly, represents an ever-increasing clinical and financial burden for the NHS. Cardiac rehabilitation, a service that incorporates patient education, exercise training and lifestyle modification, requires further evaluation in heart failure management.
                The aim of this study was to determine whether a cardiac rehabilitation programme improved on the outcomes of an outpatient heart failure clinic (standard care) for patients, over 60 years of age, with chronic heart failure.
                Two hundred patients (60-89 years, 66% male) with New York Heart Association (NYHA) II or III heart failure confirmed by echocardiography were randomised. Both standard care and experimental groups attended clinic with a cardiologist and specialist nurse every 8 weeks. Interventions included exercise prescription, education, dietetics, occupational therapy and psychosocial counselling. The main outcome measures were functional status (NYHA, 6-min walk), health-related quality of life (MLHF and EuroQol) and hospital admissions.
                There were significant improvements in MLHF and EuroQol scores, NYHA classification and 6-min walking distance (meters) at 24 weeks between the groups (p<0.001). The experimental group had fewer admissions (11 vs. 33, p<0.01) and spent fewer days in hospital (41 vs. 187, p<0.001).
                Cardiac rehabilitation, already widely established in the UK, offers an effective model of care for older patients with heart failure. Two hundred patients who had suffered an acute myocardial infarction 4-6 weeks before entered a randomised controlled trial of exercise treatment at a community sports centre supervised by a general practitioner. Eighty one per cent of the treatment group continued to exercise until they returned to work and 73% completed three months' exercise. There were no serious complications of the exercise course. The prevalence of angina pectoris fell by 10% in the treatment group but rose by 60% in the control group. The perceived energy level rose by significantly more in the treatment group than in the controls. The rise in predicted maximum oxygen uptake was significantly greater in the treatment group than in the control group as was the reduction in the double product (a reflection of myocardial workload) at peak exercise. Coronary rehabilitation in the community can be both safe and effective. Despite participation in a cardiac rehabilitation program, there is a downward trajectory of exercise participation during the year following a cardiac event.
                The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of CHANGE (Change Habits by Applying New Goals and Experiences), a lifestyle modification program designed to increase exercise maintenance in the year following a cardiac rehabilitation program. The CHANGE intervention consists of 5 small-group cognitive-behavioral change counseling sessions in which participants are taught self-efficacy enhancement, problem-solving skills, and relapse prevention strategies to address exercise maintenance problems.
                Participants (N = 250) were randomly assigned to the CHANGE intervention (supplemental to usual care) or a usual-care-only group. Exercise was measured using portable wristwatch heart rate monitors worn during exercise for 1 year. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determine differences in exercise over the study year between the study groups.
                Participants in the usual-care group were 76% more likely than those in the CHANGE group to stop exercising during the year following a cardiac rehabilitation program (hazard ratio = 1.76, 95% confidence interval = 1.08-2.86, p = .02) when adjusting for the significant covariates race, gender, comorbidity, muscle and joint pain, and baseline motivation. Most participants, however, had less than recommended levels of exercise amount and intensity.
                Counseling interventions that use contemporary behavior change strategies, such as the CHANGE intervention, can reduce the number of individuals who do not exercise following cardiac events.
There is some evidence to suggest that interventions to increase the uptake of cardiac rehabilitation can be effective. Few practice recommendations for increasing adherence to cardiac rehabilitation can be made at this time. Interventions targeting patient identified barriers may increase the likelihood of success. Further high quality research is needed.