Safety and feasibility of a telemonitoring‐guided exercise program in patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy

BACKGROUND: Telerehabilitation is an alternative clinic‐based rehabilitation. A remote monitoring (RM) system attached to a cardiac rhythm device can collect physiological data and the device function. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of telerehabilitation supervised by an RM in patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). METHODS: A single group pre–post exercise program was implemented for 3 months in 18 CRT recipients. The exercise regimen consisted of walking a prescribed number of steps based on a 6‐min walk distance (6MWD) achieved at baseline. The patients were asked to exercise 3 to 5 times per week for up to 30 min per session, wearing an accelerometer to document the number of steps taken. The safety was assessed by the heart failure hospitalizations and all‐cause death. The feasibility was measured by the improvement in the quality of life (QOL) using the EuroQol 5 dimensions, and daily active time measured by the CRT, 6MWD, B‐type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). RESULTS: No patients had heart failure hospitalizations or died. No patients had any ventricular tachyarrhythmias. One patient needed to suspend the exercise due to signs of exacerbated heart failure by the RM. Compared to baseline, there were significant improvements in the QOL (−0.037, p < .05), active time (1.12%/day, p < .05), and 6MWD (11 m, p < .001), but not the BNP (–32.4 pg/ml, p = .07) or LVEF (0.28%, p = .55). CONCLUSIONS: Three months of RM‐guided walking exercise in patients with CRT significantly increased the QOL, active time, and exercise capacity without any adverse effects.