Evaluation of a home-based rehabilitation programme for patients recovering from acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

There is substantial evidence of the importance of rehabilitation for patients recovering from acute myocardial infarction in reducing mortality, morbidity, and psychological distress. The aim of this study was to compare a recently established home-based coronary rehabilitation programme in a coronary care unit (CCU) with the provision of a selection of information leaflets commonly provided for patients after their myocardial infarction. A comparative study was carried out between two randomly allocated groups of patients receiving either the Heart Manual rehabilitation programme (n = 17) or general advice and information booklets (n = 17), with follow-up at 1, 3 and 6 weeks after discharge for both groups. Questionnaire measurements included anxiety and depression (HAD score), general practitioner (GP) visits, and patients' perception of their confidence of recovery and progress. The findings show that patients receiving the Heart Manual had significantly higher scores in their confidence of recovery and perception of their progress than the group receiving booklets. The Heart Manual group showed improved levels of anxiety with unchanged scores in depression, while patients receiving the booklets experienced increased depression with little change in their anxiety levels. These results help to provide guidance for health care professionals on a form of rehabilitation which is effective for patients and their families in hospital and within the community.