Cardiac rehab in an app
Did you know that only 20% – 30% of people who have been referred to cardiac rehabilitation actually make a first appointment? At Hennepin Healthcare it’s a little more, however, those statistics are alarming and quite distressing.
Who gets referred to cardiac rehabilitation? Patients who have had a heart attack, heart surgery, heart failure, stents, or angioplasty, among other procedures should attend cardiac rehabilitation. The Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at Hennepin Healthcare designs individualized programs for each patient’s needs.
So why do most patients not follow through with rehabilitation? Some barriers could be transportation, work schedules, or trouble with insurance. There are significant benefits to rehab such as reducing your chance of another heart attack by over 50%! Rehab helps strengthen the heart, relieve symptoms, and decrease readmission rates as well as mortality rates (in other words, participants live longer than those who skip rehab).
As technology advances some providers start to think outside the box. Thanks to a grant from the Minnesota Department of Health, Hennepin Healthcare Cardiac Rehab, with Chanl Health, a new Minneapolis-based company with expertise in virtual care and secondary preventive care, will be one of many partners offering cardiac rehab through an app. Data collected will be used for a research study to determine the progress of rehab with an app vs standard-based care (rehab in a facility).
These partners, such as Million Hearts, which is an initiative co-led by the CDC and CMS, have one goal in mind, to reduce deaths by heart disease and strokes. They estimate that if we could increase cardiac rehab participation to 70% we could avert 1 million heart attacks by the year 2022.
Anita La Haye, RN, is a shining force in our cardiac rehab unit and is helping to navigate this new initiative. She says, “What I find inspiring about working with cardiac rehab patients is witnessing their evolution from surviving their cardiac event to gaining the ability to thrive in spite of it.”
Walk with your Hennepin Healthcare colleagues to build a world of longer, healthier lives free of heart diseases and stroke.
Where are the walks? Where you are! Lace up, get outside, and explore your neighborhood or favorite walking trail with your family and your dog.
How do I show that I’m participating? Register online through AHA Heart Walk. Join team Hennepin Healthcare. Fundraising is optional. Share your photos and video on social media using the hashtags #TCHeartWalk.
