Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 28, 2026

A Novel Digital Platform for a Monitored Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Published on: April 19, 2019
The Digital Heart Manual: A pilot study of an innovative cardiac rehabilitation programme developed for and with
C Deighan1, L Michalova1, C Pagliari2
1The Heart Manual Department, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK.
Objective:
Patients are seeking greater choice and flexibility in how they engage with self-management programmes. While digital innovations offer opportunities to deliver supportive interventions to patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation little is known about how accessible, useful and acceptable they are for this group. This project developed a digital version of a leading evidenced cardiac rehabilitation programme, the Heart Manual (HM). The prototype was developed and evaluated iteratively in collaboration with end users.
Methods:
Using a mixed methods design 28 participants provided feedback using semi-structured questionnaires and telephone interviews.
Results:
Rich data revealed the perceived user-friendliness of the HM digital format and its effectiveness at communicating the programme's key messages. It flagged areas requiring development, such as more flexible and intuitive navigation pathways. These suggestions informed the refinement of the resource.
Conclusion:
This evaluation offers support for the new Digital Heart Manual and confirms the value of employing a user-centred approach when developing and improving online interventions. The system is now in use and recommendations from the evaluation are being translated into quality improvements.
Practice Implications:
The Digital Heart Manual is user friendly and accessible to patients and health professionals, regardless of age, presenting a suitable alternative to the paper version.
Related Concept Videos
Anatomy of the Heart
Pulse rhythm
Conversely, an irregular pulse pattern is termed dysrhythmia, stemming from disruptions in cardiac muscle...
Development of the Heart
As the embryo undergoes lateral folding, these paired tubes approach each other, merging into a single primitive heart tube by...
Cardiomyopathy II: Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy III: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy V: Interprofessional Care

