Feasibility of a home-based telerehabilitation exercise program for heart failure patients – a prospective randomized controlled trial

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a prevalent disease, and CHF patients are recommended to participate in cardiac rehabilitation programs. Due to frailty and rural living, many CHF patients refuse to do so. To meet these challenges, there is need of a more convenient and efficient rehabilitation system. A home-based telerehabilitation program was designed to enable CHF patients to exercise via video-conferencing in their homes, allowing two-way communication with their therapist, and for patients to exercise together.

We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a home-based telerehabilitation exercise program designed for CHF patients.

67 subjects were included in a two-arm prospective randomized controlled trial if they had stable CHF, were on optimal medical therapy, and refused to participate in standard outpatient rehabilitation. All subjects participated in a 2-day “Living with heart failure” course. The intervention group (n=30) was educated in the use of a tablet computer, a video-conferencing app, and an app with exercise videos, before they received home-based telerehabilitation exercise twice a week for 3 months. Each exercise session consisted of 20 min warm-up, followed by 4x4 min high intensity intervals with 3 min active breaks, and 15 min calm down. Outcomes, measured at baseline and 3 months, included the 6-minute walk test, the Minnesota living with heart failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), adherence, adverse events, satisfaction, and patient reported measures of safety, technical aspects, and motivational factors.

Mean age was 68 (65.6–71.1) years (82% male). By the 6-minute walk test, the exercise group increased their walking distance with 18 m from baseline 451 m, p=0.07. No change (+0.8 m) was seen in the control group from baseline (478 m) to 3 months, but no significant difference between groups (p=0.20). We found a significant decrease in MLHFQ score for the exercise group (baseline 42.6, change −13.8, p=0.003), and for the control group (baseline 41.2, change −12.6, p=0.002), with no difference between groups (p=0.83). ≥80% fulfilled 80% of 24 exercises. One drop-out was registered, and no adverse events were reported during exercise. In total 96% (26/27) reported that they felt safe during home-based exercise via videoconferencing and 96% (24/25) reported that the intervention gave motivation to continue exercising on their own. Some minor technical issues with the videoconference software was present in 58% (15/26).

Home-based exercise training supported by real-time supervision by telemedicine was feasible, with high adherence and high level of patients' satisfaction. Telerehabilitation increased 6-minute walking distance and quality of life in CHF patients, but the changes were not statistically significant compared to controls. Despite some technical issues with the software and equipment used, the participants reported high motivation to further exercise.

Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): Central Norway Regional Health Authority