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World J Clin Cases. May 26, 2020; 8(10): 1818-1831
Published online May 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i10.1818
Remotely monitored telerehabilitation for cardiac patients: A review of the current situation
Ladislav Batalik, Katerina Filakova, Katerina Batalikova, Filip Dosbaba
Ladislav Batalik, Katerina Filakova, Katerina Batalikova, Filip Dosbaba, Department of Rehabilitation, University Hospital Brno, Brno 62500, Czech Republic
Ladislav Batalik, Department of Cardiology and Internal Medicine, University Hospital Brno, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University Brno, Brno 62500, Czech Republic
Author contributions: Batalik L and Filakova K designed the research; Batalik L, Filakova K, and Dosbaba F analyzed the data; Batalik L, Batalikova K, and Dosbaba F conducted the data interpretation; Batalik L and Filakova K wrote the paper; Batalikova K and Dosbaba F revised the text; all authors approved the final version of the article.
Supported by Ministry of Health, Czech Republic - Conceptual Development of Research Organization FNBr, No. 65269705.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ladislav Batalik, MSc, Physiotherapist, Research Scientist, Department of Rehabilitation, University Hospital Brno, Jihlavská 20, Brno 62500, Czech Republic. batalik.ladislav@fnbrno.cz
Received: February 21, 2020
Peer-review started: February 21, 2020
First decision: March 18, 2020
Revised: April 5, 2020
Accepted: April 28, 2020
Article in press: April 28, 2020
Published online: May 26, 2020
Abstract

Cardiac rehabilitation through center-based programs is an effective multicomponent intervention for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Despite the benefits it brings, patients’ participation in rehabilitation programs remains low. In this work, the latest relevant literature regarding remotely monitored cardiac telerehabilitation (TR) was reviewed considering its efficiency and utilization. The main objective was to assess whether TR has the potential to be an appropriate alternative form of rehabilitation. A total of 105 publications on this topic were screened out of 747 full-text articles that were read and evaluated, of which 12 were considered suitable for inclusion in the final review. Feasibility, efficiency, and safety were assessed for each TR intervention. The results of our evaluation indicate that TR seems to be a usable, effective, and safe alternative rehabilitation for patients with heart disease. Most of the currently published articles have studied remotely monitored TR intervention offering a comprehensive approach, which indicates the significant development and steps forward in this field of study. Our research evidence supports the implementation of TR, which could positively influence barriers in participating in cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Keywords: Telerehabilitation, Cardiac rehabilitation, Wearable devices, Cardiovascular diseases, Telemonitoring, Telecoaching, Telemedicine

Core tip: Telerehabilitation (TR) and mobile technologies are becoming potentially suitable alternatives through which it is possible to fill the gap over barriers in participation in cardiac rehabilitation programs. Based on this review, it is estimated that TR may be an effective and safe alternative rehabilitation for patients with heart disease. Most of the TR interventions currently published provide a comprehensive approach, indicating the significant development and step-forward in this field of study.