Cardiac Rehabilitation Based on the Walking Test and Telerehabilitation Improved Cardiorespiratory Fitness in People Diagnosed with Coronary Heart Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ladislav Batalik, Vladimir Konecny, Filip Dosbaba, Daniela Vlazna and Kristian Brat
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Ladislav Batalik: Department of Rehabilitation, University Hospital Brno, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
Vladimir Konecny: Non-Government Health Facility, Cardiovascular Rehabilitation, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
Filip Dosbaba: Department of Rehabilitation, University Hospital Brno, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
Daniela Vlazna: Department of Rehabilitation, University Hospital Brno, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
Kristian Brat: Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-11

Abstract: This study investigated an alternative home-based cardiac telerehabilitation model in consideration of the recommendations for the COVID-19 quarantine of people diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD). We hypothesized that using a 200 m fast walking test (200 mFWT) and telerehabilitation would create an effective alternative cardiac rehabilitation (CR) intervention that could improve cardiorespiratory fitness. Participants ( n = 19, mean age 60.4 ± 9.6) of the 8-week intervention performed regular physical exercise at the target heart rate zone determined by calculations based on the 200 mFWT results. In our study, the participants were supervised using telerehabilitation. A total of 84% of participants completed the 8-week intervention. No adverse events were reported during telerehabilitation. The study participants noted a significant improvement ( p < 0.001) in cardiorespiratory fitness expressed by an 8% reduction in the walking test time (? 8.8 ± 5.9 s). Home-based telerehabilitation based on 200 mFWT effectively increased the cardiorespiratory fitness in people with CHD with a low to moderate cardiovascular risk. This was a novel approach in CR during the COVID-19 pandemic. As research in this area is justified, this paper may serve as an alternative method of providing healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic and as a basis for further upcoming randomized controlled trials.

Keywords: cardiac telerehabilitation; cardiac rehabilitation; COVID-19; physical exercise; coronary heart disease; cardiorespiratory fitness; heart rate monitor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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