The Effects of a Technology-Assisted Hybrid Cardiac Rehabilitation (TecHCR) Program for Adults With Coronary Heart Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Mei Sin Chong, Janet Wing Hung Sit, Kai Chow Choi and 3 others
PMID 41457512WHAT IT FOUND
A nurse-led hybrid cardiac rehab program improved exercise self-efficacy more than center-based rehab at 12 and 24 weeks.
It also improved health-promoting behaviors and anxiety, but not exercise capacity, depression, or cardiovascular risk factors.
Key findings
01Participants receiving the hybrid program had significantly greater improvement in exercise self-efficacy than those receiving center-based cardiac rehab immediately after the program and at 24 weeks.
02The hybrid group also showed significantly greater improvement in health-promoting behaviors and significantly greater reduction in anxiety at both follow-up points.
03There were no significant between-group differences in exercise capacity, depression, or cardiovascular risk factors.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was single-center, so it may not represent other settings. The sample was 95% male and included only low or moderate cardiac risk patients, so it says little about women or higher risk patients. 44 of 160 participants did not complete the study. Participants could not be blinded to their group, which may affect self-reported outcomes. Exercise self-efficacy, health-promoting behaviors and anxiety were self-reported, so participants may have given favorable answers. The fitness watch used in the intervention was not directly validated in this study. Follow-up was only 24 weeks after the intervention, so long-term effects were not tested.
Declared interests
The authors reported no funding and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not credit the weekly nurse video calls alone for the improvements. The intervention also included a fitness watch, app-based monitoring, educational videos, home exercise, and in-person physiotherapy and occupational therapy sessions, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.