Impact of Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation on Physical Function, Outcomes, and Costs

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) improves health outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), but referral, participation, and completion rates are low. Home-based CR (HBCR) is a proposed solution, but studies on its efficacy are limited. We report our experience from a Veterans Affairs HBCR program on physical function, costs, and outcomes overlapping with the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

A 12-week HBCR program included case-managed individualized exercise and risk management. Six functional tests were conducted remotely, safety was monitored, and quality of life and costs were quantified. A composite outcome (death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiac-related hospitalization) was compared between 70 HBCR participants, 131 patients referred to Community Care, and 71 patients undergoing usual care (no CR) over a mean follow-up of 2.5 ± 0.90 years.

Among HBCR participants, there were significant improvements in right and left leg balance (145 and 56%, respectively, P < .001), 30-second chair stand (47%, P < .001), 2-minute step performance (41%, P < .001), right and left 30-second arm curl (31 and 30%, respectively, P < .001), 50-foot walk test (20%, P = .002), 8-foot up and go test (28%, P < .001), and steps/day (82%, P < .001). Composite events were lower among patients in the HBCR group versus those referred to Community Care ( P = .002). Health care costs were significantly lower among patients in the HBCR group compared to those in Community Care ($2101 vs $3289/subject, P < .001).

A HBCR program that included a broad spectrum of patients with CVD and multiple co-morbidities, performed largely during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in significant functional and outcome benefits and reduced costs.