In today’s world, smartphones are everywhere. Smartphone health apps are also springing up.
An article in the European Heart Journal believes that it is still too early to use apps to treat heart disease, but apps can improve patients' treatment compliance and help control risk factors. The
article pointed out that the burden of cardiovascular disease is heavy, and the reasons are multifaceted, but insufficient exercise, poor treatment compliance, and poor management of risk factors are the main reasons. The emergence and widespread application of mobile apps will fundamentally improve the management of heart disease patients. The
article pointed out that digital health management will become an important supplement to the traditional face-to-face management model. Digital health management includes home monitoring, video consultation with doctors, early warning based on artificial intelligence , and patient-centered personalized treatment. A holistic integrated management model that integrates patients, physicians, devices, and technology algorithms will lead to a paradigm shift in heart disease treatment.
First, in the busy environment of daily clinical practice, doctors often do not have enough time to emphasize the importance of lifestyle changes to patients and provide practical and adaptable recommendations to patients.
Secondly, patients find it difficult to implement lifestyle changes in their daily lives.
security issues and incorrect movement patterns further exacerbate this problem. In addition, the distance from the hospital is also a major problem affecting patients' access to medical services.
People use their mobile phones for more than 200 minutes a day on average, yet most coronary heart disease patients do not follow simple lifestyle advice to prevent heart attacks.
If patients with coronary heart disease spend 10% of their daily cell phone time secondary prevention , it is likely to significantly reduce the risk of future cardiac events.
Two recently published studies tested promising health applications in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (Corrie and Vantis).
These applications were developed in accordance with US and European secondary prevention guidelines. Corrie and Vantis offer an integrated secondary prevention approach for patients with coronary heart disease or post-myocardial infarction.
Preliminary research shows that regular use of a smartphone-based intervention via the Vantis app can increase physical activity, healthy eating habits and knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors.
Corrie app use is associated with more active self-management and a lower risk of 30-day readmission in patients after acute myocardial infarction .
However, further research is needed to explore whether heart health apps can reduce hard endpoints such as acute myocardial infarction or (cardiac) death. The
article points out that heart disease patients are increasingly using health apps as part of a broadening of treatment models for heart disease.
Future treatments, especially those for chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, will no longer be performed only in the clinic, but will rely on three pillars: self-management (guided by apps using smart devices), telemedicine (distance diagnosis, treatment and consultation) and face-to-face (hospital) management.
Additionally, collecting real-world data in patients' private settings will play an increasingly important role and be valuable for many research questions.
And large-scale real-world data can enable us to provide more personalized treatment plans in the future to maximize patient benefit.
The American Heart Association recently issued a scientific statement, pointing out that mobile medical technology can help encourage elderly people aged ≥60 years old with heart disease to follow a healthy lifestyle and adhere to medication, and encourage the elderly to actively apply mobile medical technology.
Source:[1]Eckardt I, Düsing P, Nickenig G, Jansen F. Smart devices resulting in big effect: can apps cure heart disease? Eur Heart J. 2022, 43(21):2003-2004.
[2] Harnessing Mobile Health Technology for Secondary Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Older Adults: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2021, 14(5): e000103.
Reprint: Please mark "Chinese Circulation Journal"
