Use of mobile applications assessing motor activity of patients after myocardial infarction for improving indicators of physical rehabilitation

Abstract

Considering the widespread use of mobile phones, cellular communication systems wide coverage of the territory of the Russian Federation, the free or low cost of mobile applications for assessing motor activity, convenient interface and high accuracy of measurements of the apps; the usage of the modern technologies while involving underwent myocardial infarction patients into rehabilitation programs could increase the percentage of these programs participants and improve the results obtained during the implementation of the programs.Research goal. assessment of the impact of the usage of mobile applications, that could monitor the level of motor activity, on the results of a six-minute walk test (6 MWT) among the patients with myocardial infarction who were on the second stage of cardiac rehabilitation.Materials and methods. Materials and methods: 224 patients were examined: 99 (44.2 %) men and 125 (55.8 %) women aged 60.6 ± 11.5 years, who had had myocardial infarction from 6 days to 6 months ago (median 16 [10; 139] days), which passed the second stage of rehabilitation for 11.6 ± 1.4 days in the conditions of the specialized cardiology department of the Resort-hotel ‘Sosnovka’ (Berdsk, Russia). At the time of admission, in the middle of the rehabilitation course (on the 6th day) and before discharge (on the 12th day), a six-minute walk (6 MWT) test was performed (6 MWT1, 6 MWT2 and 6 MWT3, respectively). Changes in these parameters over time were estimated as the difference between the second and first 6 MWT, the third and first 6 MWT test results, and compared in two groups.Results obtained. The results of 6 MWT1 performed on admission of patients to the department did not differ between the two groups (F = 3.068; p = 0.81). 6 MWT2, conducted on average one week after the start of the second stage of the cardio-rehabilitation program revealed a statistically significant difference between the groups (F = 21.758; p < 0.001), which became more visible when 6 MWT3 was conducted at the end of the second week in the department (F = 66.615; p < 0.001), indicating the advantages of the group using the mobile application.Conclusion. The active introduction of mobile applications into real clinical practice effectively, non-invasively, does not require additional financial investments from the health care system and personal time of the doctor, being a positive determinant of the preventive behavior of patients.