Digital patient education to reduce fear of movement after myocardial infarction and atrial fibrillation: A pilot study (Anita Kärner Köhler, HMV)
Physical activity is important after myocardial infarction (MI) and atrial fibrillation (AF) as it prevents recurrence, reduces symptoms, and improves exercise capacity and quality of life. However, as many as 20% of patients with MI and 70% with AF experience fear of movement and develop long-term avoidance of physical activity.
To increase physical activity among these patients, funding provided by e-Health will be used for a pilot study. The patients will be offered to join the patient education programme “Fear of MOVEment after myocardial infarction or atrial fibrillation - patient education via InterneT (MOVE-IT)”. The overall aim with MOVE-IT is to evaluate if digital patient group education can reduce fear of movement and promote physical activity in patients after MI and/or AF.
A pre-post design is used to test the programme. The patients meet digitally several times with a tutor during two months and learn about physical activity, fear of movement, AF and/or MI. The learning process is inspired by problem-based learning and involves activities to support learning and behavioral activation to reduce fear of movement and promote physical activity. The pilot study is expected to give guidance for a larger randomized controlled trial.
Exergaming for patients with an LVAD (Leonie Klompstra, HMV)
Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy improves the outcome in advanced heart failure and has transitioned from initially only being lifesaving therapy for patients waiting for heart transplantation to destination therapy, even for patients who have been assessed as ineligible for a heart transplant. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) recommends early mobilization within 7–10 days after implantation and exercise training in patients with LVAD and provides basic advice for physical activity and exercise. Unfortunately, the available evidence on exercise training in LVAD patients, while promising, is limited.
A novel approach to increase physical activity is the use of exergames where physical activity is required by the participants in order to play the game. We have developed an exergame (Heart Farming) which could be tailored to needs and preferences of LVAD patients with as goal to walk 10 minutes more a day. With the collaboration grant of e-Health, we would like to perform a feasibility study in this specific patient group and to collect data in 20 LVAD patients to prepare for a study in a larger population. You can read more about the study here: heart-exg.com
Digital twins help bring glucose sensors into preventive healthcare (Gunnar Cedersund, IMT)
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