Activity and heart rate-based measures for outpatient cardiac rehabilitation.
OBJECTIVE
Derive activity and heart rate (HR) monitor-based clinically relevant measures for outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (CR).


METHODS
We are currently collecting activity/ECG data from patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation over duration of six weeks. From these data sets, we a) derive various measures which can be used in assessing home-based CR patients remotely and b) investigate the usefulness of continuous ambulatory HR and heart rate variability (HRV) for various core components of CR.


RESULTS
The information provided by these measures is interpreted according to the CR guidelines framework by American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR), thus showing how these tools can be used in assessing the progress of patients' condition. The usefulness and significance of these measures from a health care professional perspective is also presented by evaluating them against the existing hospital-based measures through examples.


CONCLUSIONS
Hospital-based CR programs, despite their clinical benefits are severely under-utilized and resource-demanding. Ambulatory monitoring technologies, which provide a means for continuous physiological monitoring of patients at home compared to hospital-based tools, can enable home-based CR. The clinically relevant measures derived from these tools not only reflect patients' condition in a similar way as conventional tools but also show the continuous status of functional capacity (FC).
Bidargaddi
N P
NP
Australian E-Health Research Centre (AEHRC), CSIRO ICT Centre, P. O. Box 10842, Level 20, 300 Adelaide Street, Brisbane 4000, QLD, Australia. niranjan.bidargaddi@csiro.au
Sarela
A
A
D000054:Acceleration; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D034201:Computers, Handheld; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009043:Motor Activity; D010045:Outpatients; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology