People with heart problems will be able to complete rehabilitation online in their homes rather than waiting for face-to-face appointments after a number of platforms were conditionally given the green light for NHS use.
Experts said the programmes “offer real potential to transform” how this type of care is delivered to individual patients.
Six online platforms have been conditionally recommended to support adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in new draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).
They are Activate Your Heart, D REACH-HF, Digital Heart Manual, Gro Health HeartBuddy, KiActiv and myHeart.
CVD is a general term for conditions that impact the heart or blood vessels.
It is estimated that it affects around seven million people in the UK.
However, uptake for cardiac rehabilitation programmes, which can reduce the risk of further heart problems and hospital admissions, is low, according to Nice.
Each platform is designed to offer cardiac rehabilitation online, including exercise programmes, advice on diet, medication management and psychological support.
Some of the platforms also include wearable devices to monitor activity levels.
Dr Anastasia Chalkidou, healthtech programme director at Nice, said: “These digital platforms offer real potential to transform how cardiac rehabilitation is offered to people to meet their individual circumstances.
“We know that traditional programmes aren’t reaching everyone who could benefit – particularly women, younger patients and people from ethnic minority backgrounds.”
Before the online platforms are offered as an option, patients must be assessed by a healthcare professional.
More support may be needed for older people, those with disabilities, homeless patients or those whose first language is not English, Nice suggests.
The six platforms will be used on the NHS over the next three years to generate more evidence and data on their long-term effectiveness.
Dr Chalkidou added: “The early data is promising and suggests, with safeguards in place, more people should now be given the opportunity to use these new technologies.
“This three-year evidence collection period will give us the additional robust data we need to determine whether these innovations should be recommended as a permanent part of cardiac care.”
A consultation on the conditional recommendation is now underway and will close on September 3.
Seven other platforms – Beat Better, Datos Health, Get Ready, Luscii vitals, Pumping Marvellous Cardiac Rehab Platform, R Plus Health and Sword Move – require more research before they can be funded by the NHS, Nice said.
