Effects of the Strong Hearts program after a major cardiovascular event in patients with cardiovascular disease

Abstract

Context: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and intensive cardiac rehabilitation (ICR) are secondary prevention interventions for cardiovascular disease (CVD) with a class 1a indication yet suboptimal utilization. To date, there are only three approved ICR programs. Alternative programing should be explored to increase enrollment and adherence in these interventions. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Strong Hearts program in cardiovascular patients following a major cardiovascular event. Methods: One hundred ninety-seven (n = 197) participants were enrolled in this prospective, nonrandomized study. Patients were eligible for participation if they were referred by a physician after a major cardiovascular event, defined as any of the following: (1) acute myocardial infarction (MI) within the preceding 12 months; (2) current stable or unstable angina pectoris; (3) heart valve procedure; (4) percutaneous intervention of any kind; (5) heart transplant; (6) coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG); or (7) congestive heart failure (CHF) with reduced or preserved ejection fraction. Participants were asked to attend program visits four times per week for 9 weeks. Visits consisted of individualized exercise and intensive healthy lifestyle education. Paired t tests were utilized to compare pre- and postprogram outcome measures. Results: One hundred twenty-eight (n = 128) participants completed the program within the 9-week time frame and their outcome measures were included in the data analysis. Among this, 35.2% participants were female and 64.8% were male. The mean age was 65 (range, 19-88). Qualifying diagnoses were percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; 60, 46.9%), CABG (33, 25.8%), angina (24, 18.8%), valve procedures (8, 6.2%), and CHF (3, 2.3%). After implementation of the intervention, statistically significant decreases in weight (P