Key result
Virtual cardiac rehab yields mixed results but can match center-based functional improvements in older adults.
Why the study?
The review aimed to analyze recent developments in remote cardiac rehabilitation for older adults, assess outcomes data on clinical effectiveness, and discuss implementation strategies targeted at this population.
Does virtual and remote cardiac rehabilitation improve functional capacity and quality of life in older adults compared to center-based programs?
Does virtual and remote cardiac rehabilitation improve functional capacity and quality of life in older adults compared to center-based programs?
Virtual and remote cardiac rehabilitation can be effective for secondary prevention in older adults, but requires intentional adaptation to address digital literacy and patient engagement.
Caution against routine adoption without addressing engagement and digital literacy; leaves open need for RCTs confirming comparability in older adults.
Purpose of Review To present and analyze recent developments in remote cardiac rehabilitation for older adults, review outcomes data regarding clinical effectiveness of these modalities, and discuss implementation strategies targeted at older adults. Recent Findings Data from recent studies enrolling older adults into remote cardiac rehabilitation programs have yielded mixed results with some showing encouraging improvements in functional capacity and quality of life comparable to those obtained with center-based rehabilitation programs. Studies that showed no improvement in outcomes identified decreased patient engagement as an important driver of results. This underscores the importance of adapting remote cardiac rehabilitation programs to the intended population and consider factors such as digital literacy that are relevant to older adults and critical for successful implementation of cardiac rehabilitation programs. Summary Virtual and remote cardiac rehabilitation models continue to evolve and are important programs for providing secondary prevention for older adults but require an intentional approach when adapting for clinical practice.
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Slone et al. (2026) conducted a review in Cardiac rehabilitation in older adults. Virtual and remote cardiac rehabilitation vs. Center-based rehabilitation programs was evaluated on Functional capacity and quality of life. Virtual and remote cardiac rehabilitation for older adults yields mixed results, with some studies showing improvements in functional capacity comparable to center-based programs.
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