The purpose of this study was to determine whether home-based cardiac rehabilitation, such as various aerobic exercises, improved the quality of medical care for patients with heart diseases. The researchers hypothesized the potential benefit on the quality of medical care, and hence the reduced readmission rates of the patients. The researchers focused on heart failure patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 50%, randomly assigning them to control and interventional groups.
The test group was provided with individualized home-based cardiac rehabilitation, diet education, and daily activity management for three months. Throughout this period, various information about the subjects was collected using the Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test, Six-minute Walk Test results, and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire, among others.
The study found that for the patients in the test group, who participated in the cardiac rehabilitation programs, the readmission rate was reduced by almost 10%, from 14 to 5. The subjects of the study were a small group of a limited demographic, and hence it is difficult to claim that the results will be repeated on a larger scale. The authors found that home-based cardiac rehabilitation was beneficial for improving functional capacity, and quality of life and reduced the readmission rate within 90 days. This research considers a possible solution to the problem of high readmission rates for heart disease patients. It is very useful as it provides a viable option for the nurses and medical staff that does not require medical facilities.
References
Chen, Y. W., Wang, C. Y., Lai, Y. H., Liao, Y. C., Wen, Y. K., Chang, S. T., Huang, J. L., & Wu, T. J. (2018). Home-based cardiac rehabilitation improves the quality of life, aerobic capacity, and readmission rates in patients with chronic heart failure. Medicine, 97(4), e9629. Web.