First real-world experience with mobile health telemonitoring in adult patients with congenital heart disease

Background

Arrhythmias and heart failure are common and invalidating sequelae in adult patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Mobile health (m-Health) enables daily monitoring and a timely response that might prevent deterioration. We present an observational prospective registry to evaluate feasibility of an m‑Health telemonitoring program for managing arrhythmia, heart failure and blood pressure in symptomatic adults with CHD.

Methods

Symptomatic adult patients with CHD are enrolled in an m‑Health telemonitoring program, which evaluates single-lead ECG, blood pressure and weight measurements. In case of symptoms extra measurements could be performed. Data are collected by mobile apps, matched with individualised thresholds. Patients are contacted if thresholds were exceeded or if arrhythmias were found, for treatment adjustments or reassurance. Data on emergency care utilisation, hospitalisation and patient-reported outcome measures are used to assess quality of life and self-management.

Results

129 symptomatic CHD patients were invited to participate, 55 participated. Reasons for refusing consent included too time consuming to participate in research (30) and to monitor vital signs (14). At baseline 22 patients were in New York Heart Association class ≥ II heart failure, 43 patients had palpitations or documented arrhythmias, and 8 had hypertension. Mean follow-up was 3.0 months, one patient dropped out, and adherence was 97%.

Conclusion

The first results indicate that this program is feasible with high adherence.

     

Pulmonary valve infective endocarditis with atrial septal defect and pulmonary valve disease—too coincidental to be true?

Netherlands Heart Journal -     

Mobile health in adults with congenital heart disease: current use and future needs

ObjectiveMany adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) are affected lifelong by cardiac events, particularly arrhythmias and heart failure. Despite the care provided, the cardiac event rate remains high. Mobile health (mHealth) brings opportunities to enhance daily monitoring and hence timely response in an attempt to improve outcome. However, it is not known if adults with CHD are currently using mHealth and what type of mHealth they may need in the near future.MethodsConsecutive adult patients with CHD who visited the outpatient clinic at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam were asked to fill out questionnaires. Exclusion criteria for this study were mental impairment or inability to read and write Dutch.ResultsAll 118 patients participated (median age 40 (range 18–78) years, 40 % male, 49 % symptomatic) and 92 % owned a smartphone. Whereas only a small minority (14 %) of patients used mHealth, the large majority (75 %) were willing to start. Most patients wanted to use mHealth in order to receive more information on physical health, and advice on progression of symptoms or signs of deterioration. Analyses on age, gender and complexity of defect showed significantly less current smartphone usage at older age, but no difference in interest or preferences in type of mHealth application for the near future.ConclusionThe relatively young adult CHD population only rarely uses mHealth, but the majority are motivated to start using mHealth. New mHealth initiatives are required in these patients with a chronic condition who need lifelong surveillance in order to reveal if a reduction in morbidity and mortality and improvement in quality of life can be achieved.