Summary
Objectives:
Derive activity and heart rate (HR) monitor-based clinically relevant measures for
outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (CR).
Methods:
We are currently collecting activity/ ECG data from patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation
over duration of six weeks. From these data sets, we a) derive various measures which
can be used in assessing home-based CR patients remotely and b) investigate the usefulness
of continuous ambulatory HR and heart rate variability (HRV) for various core components
of CR.
Results:
The information provided by these measures is interpreted according to the CR guidelines
framework by American Association of Cardiovascular and Pul - monary Rehabilitation
(AACVPR), thus showing how these tools can be used in assessing the progress of patients’
condition. The usefulness and significance of these measures from a health care professional
perspective is also presented by evaluating them against the existing hospital-based
measures through examples.
Conclusions:
Hospital-based CR programs, despite their clinical benefits are severely under-utilized
and resource-demanding. Ambulatory monitoring technologies, which provide a means
for continuous physiological monitoring of patients at home compared to hospital-based
tools, can enable home-based CR. The clinically relevant measures derived from these
tools not only reflect patients´ condition in a similar way as conventional tools
but also show the continuous status of functional capacity (FC).
Keywords
Cardiac rehabilitation - ambulatory monitoring - physiological monitoring - heart
rate - physical activity
