Lower Mortality Seen for Patients Participating in Home-Based Cardiac Rehab

WEDNESDAY, March 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Participation in home-based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) is associated with a lower hazard of mortality, according to a study published online March 1 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Nirupama Krishnamurthi, M.B.B.S., from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and colleagues examined patients who were referred to and eligible for outpatient CR between 2013 and 2018. Over 12 weeks, those who chose to participate in HBCR received up to nine sessions of telephonic coaching and motivational interviewing. Patients were followed through June 30, 2021.

Of the 1,120 participants who were eligible, 44 percent participated in HBCR. The researchers found that 17 percent of patients died during a median follow-up of 4.2 years. The 490 HBCR participants had lower mortality than the 630 nonparticipants (12 versus 20 percent). The hazard of mortality remained lower among HBCR participants versus nonparticipants in an inverse probability weighted Cox regression analysis adjusted for patient demographics and comorbid conditions (hazard ratio, 0.64).

"Our findings provide an impetus to further expand HBCR to deliver CR to those who are unable to access center-based CR programs," the authors write.

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