Participation in home-based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) is associated with a lower hazard of mortality, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Nirupama Krishnamurthi, MBBS, and colleagues examined patients who were referred to and eligible for out-patient CR between 2013 and 2018. Over 12
weeks, those who chose to participate in HBCR received up to nine sessions of telephone coaching and motivational interviewing. Patients were followed through June 30, 2021. Of the 1,120 participants who were eligible, 44% participated in HBCR. The researchers found that 17% of patients died during a median follow-up of 4.2 years. The
490 HBCR participants had lower mortality than the 630 non-participants (12% vs 20%). The hazard of mortality remained lower among HBCR participants versus non-participants in an inverse probability weighted Cox regression analysis adjusted for patient demographics and comorbid conditions (HR, 0.64). “Our findings provide an impetus to further expand HBCR to deliver CR to those who are unable to access center-based CR programs,” Krishnamurthi and colleagues wrote
