E-Health rehabilitation on clinical, quality of life, and functional capacity in cardiovascular disease: preliminary results.

This study aims to evaluate the preliminary effects of an e-health-based rehabilitation program delivered by a new technological solution, named eHeart, on functional capacity domains by assessing pre- and post-effects on cardiorespiratory fitness, quality of life, strength, and flexibility. The nine initial patients enrolled in this preliminary study were predominantly male (57%), elderly, with CVD, 4 of whom were diagnosed as HF, mostly with I and II NYHA functional class, and arterial hypertension (100%). Among the standard physical assessment domains changes pre and post-remote rehabilitation utilizing the eHeart technological platform, we observed a substantial increase in the cardiorespiratory capacity after rehabilitation in the number of 6MST steps (89 ± 47 versus 129 ± 48, p = 0.002), with a high D Cohen value (41.2) along with a substantial reduction on the resting rate (HR, bpm) (69 ± 10 versus 63 ± 10 bpm, p = 0.003) with a D Cohen of 25.4. Other variables (HR peak, SBP rest and peak, DBP rest and peak) did not present a significant difference following the remote protocol (p < 0.05). We observed a significant improvement after the rehabilitation in the isometric muscle strength of elbow flexion (13 ± 5 versus 18 ± 7, p = 0.04, D Cohen of 6.14) and in quality of life by the EQ-5D-5 L (0.57 ± 0.26 versus 0.71 ± 0.17, p = 0.04, D Cohen of 0.16). The conclusion of our study highlights the significant benefits of e-health in improving functional capacity, quality of life, and isometric muscle strength in individuals with CVD. Through 14 sessions, we observed marked improvements in these key health indicators, suggesting that e-health can be a valuable tool in the management of various health conditions.