Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate whether cardiac rehabilitation with a technology-assisted personalized exercise prescription is superior to traditional remote home-based rehabilitation in improving cardiorespiratory endurance and quality of life in postoperative patients. METHODS: From October 2022 to April 2024, 62 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary heart disease were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Beijing and randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. After baseline assessments of cardiorespiratory endurance and exercise function, the intervention group received a digitalized personalized exercise prescription combined with remote monitoring rehabilitation. This included an exercise prescription delivered via a mobile application, weekly remote monitoring sessions with an exercise therapist to supervise prescription adherence, provide feedback based on real-time electrocardiographic data, and make personalized adjustments to the exercise prescription based on this information. The control group received an application-delivered exercise movement library and a wearable electrocardiogram device for self-monitoring of exercise intensity. Both groups underwent the 12-week intervention. Changes in maximal oxygen uptake and quality of life were evaluated at enrollment, as well as at 4 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks after the intervention commenced. RESULTS: A total of 58 participants completed the study (the intervention group [n=30], the control group [n=28]). Twelve weeks after the interventions, the intervention group showed statistically improvements in VO(2AT) (Z = 2.247, P = 0.025), general health (Z = 2.126, P = 0.033) and social functioning (Z = 3.349, P = 0.001) compared to the control group. At 24 weeks of follow-up, the intervention group continued to exhibit statistically significant improvements in VO(2AT) (Z = 2.017, P = 0.044) and social functioning (Z = 3.126, P = 0.002). The exercise duration of patients in the intervention group during the exercise test was significantly prolonged at both 4 weeks (Z = -2.420, P = 0.021), 12 weeks (Z = -2.240, P = 0.029) and 24weeks (Z = -2.300, P = 0.025) showing statistically significant differences compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides new evidence-based support for the practical effectiveness of nurses acting as supervisors of rehabilitation implementation and coordinators of multidisciplinary teams within a remote digital cardiac rehabilitation model, underscoring their significant value in the secondary prevention management system for cardiovascular diseases in the information era.