Cardiac telerehabilitation in times of pandemic. Experience at the Instituto Nacional Cardiovascular - INCOR in Lima-Peru

Pérez J.E.; Coronado R.O.F.; Yzú A.O.; Coronado J.A.F.; Vilchez Y.R.P.; Ñahui M.A.H.; Meza R.E.S.; Valenzuela H.S. · Archivos Peruanos de Cardiologia y Cirugia Cardiovascular (2023) · DOI: 10.47487/apcyccv.v4i1.281

Resumen

Objective. Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) programs based on telehealth are an alternative in the context of a pandemic and represent an opportunity to continue in the cardiovascular diseases (CVD) intervention. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of a Cardiac Telerehabilitation (CTR) program on quality of life, anxiety/depression index, exercise safety and disease awareness level in patients discharged from a national referral institute during pandemic. Materials and methods. A pre-experimental study in cardiac patients admitted to the cardiac rehabilitation program at INCOR from August to December 2020. The study included low-risk patients who were administered a questionnaire (on cardiovascular disease, exercise safety, anxiety/depression, and quality of life) at the beginning and end of the program, which was applied through a virtual platform. Descriptive and comparative before-after analysis was used through hypothesis testing. Results. Sixty-four patients were included (71.9% male). The mean age was 63.6 ± 11.1 years. Regarding exercise safety, an increase in the mean score was found after the application of the program (3.06 ± 0.8 to 3.18 ± 0.7, p=0.324). As for anxiety, the mean score was decreased from 8.61 to 4.75, whereas depression, there was a decreased from 7.27 to 2.92. When it comes to the quality-of-life score, the global component increased from 111.48 to 127.92. Conclusions. The CTR program implemented through a virtual platform during the COVID-19 pandemic enhanced quality of life and decreased stress and depression in cardiac patients discharged from a national cardiovascular referral center.