<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="2040647697" paraeid="{3b8bff23-a4ff-4d93-8260-73f3331a92d5}{32}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Patients undergoing cardiac surgery have better clinical outcomes<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">post-procedure</span><span> </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">if they<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">receive</span><span> </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">a<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">pre-surgery rehabilitation program</span><span> </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">focused on improving risk factors and<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">modifying</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>lifestyle choices, new data show.</span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559685":0,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":279}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="246245279" paraeid="{5608c5c3-dafa-43ae-bb81-b5bd2a57f94c}{179}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">“</span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">Teleprehabilitation</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">” was defined in the recently published data from the Digital Cardiac Counseling (DCC) randomized clinical trial, where a telehealth-based pre-procedure rehabilitation<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">program supported patients within 1 year before undergoing cardiac surgery.</span><span> </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Lifestyle modifications and mental health support before major cardiac surgery are<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">emerging</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>as strategies to reduce post-operative risks and hospital stays.</span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="960140451" paraeid="{95f968f8-3685-4643-b0de-8466e3d50a97}{246}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">The DCC<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">trial</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>randomized patients 1:1 to receive standard care or<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">teleprehabilitation</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">.<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Data were collected between May 2020 and November 2023 and included a total of 196 patient</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">s<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">in the intervention group (mean age=65.7 years,<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">7</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">6.0</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">% men)<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">and 192 patients in the standard care group<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">(mean age=65.9 years, 75.5% men)<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">for final analysis.</span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="568499946" paraeid="{4ef28b80-6db6-454c-bc79-2aeeee0ed9ab}{191}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Little long-term evidence is available for cardiac surgery patients who receive<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">teleprehabilitation</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">.</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>The at-home format of th</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">is<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">intervention may<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">support the varying needs of patients</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>before procedures.</span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="2032951608" paraeid="{12fe0b95-1ca0-4414-af59-52c2b84cac3e}{57}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Investigators in this secondary analysis</span><span> </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">—</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"> led by Lieke van Susante, MD, of the Heart and Cardiovascular Center at Maastricht University Medical Center, the Netherlands</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">, and published in the<span> </span></span></span><em><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery</span></em><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>—</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>of the DCC compared the use of<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">teleprehabilitation</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>with standard care in elective cardiovascular surgery patients.<span> </span></span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="111466486" paraeid="{d33790f9-2ca3-4e4f-abd3-aa98cc646de3}{126}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">The program had f</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">ive</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>targets: physical fitness, muscle training, psychological support, diet and<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">nutrition</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>and<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">reducing smoking. Patients were evaluated for these outcomes at 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-up appointments after cardiac surgery.<span> </span></span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="1089437532" paraeid="{6d8b3a0f-bc50-445d-bc07-55afa43f2d0d}{160}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Both groups had improvements across<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">physicall</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>fitness, muscle<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">training</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>and mental health</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"> </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">(p<0.001)</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">. However, patients in the<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">teleprehabilitation</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>group had greater improvements in smoking behaviors (p=0.045) and nutritional risk (p=0.011).</span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="1747527159" paraeid="{dd92dfa9-5e3c-4b7b-8d27-18278994a0f6}{51}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Patients who received the<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">teleprehabilitation</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>had lower rates of smoking and better nutrition over each follow-up visit. Smoking was significantly reduced at each time point in the<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">teleprehabilitation</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>group compared with patients who received standard care (p</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><0.05). Nutrition was most improved in the intervention group at 3-months post-procedure compared with the standard care patients (</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">p=0.012).</span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="126871456" paraeid="{6dd37f63-7bed-49ce-986b-8dcc5d4eb6cd}{159}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Patients who received<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">teleprehabilitation</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>also had better quality-of-life scores after surgery compared with standard care patients (p=0.002).</span><span> </span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="388893362" paraeid="{607d8fbc-9ad7-4cb8-a5bc-f2c1a6b80a3b}{199}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">The investigators in this analysis noted that, while no significant differences were found between improvement in physical fitness and mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression, patients in the intervention group still saw more benefit in the reduction of smoking and improving nutrition</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">.</span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="1274254365" paraeid="{ac53f9f8-f273-4a1d-89b9-aab9cc21100a}{29}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">“Future studies should prospectively evaluate the effects of teleprehabilitation on individual modifiable risk factors with sufficient power to detect subgroup-specific effects, particularly in patients with elevated baseline risk,” wrote Dr. Van Susante and colleagues.</span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="1960983407" paraeid="{7f194b33-f2fc-426e-a4fe-dbe67157bc7f}{20}"><strong><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Source:</span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></strong></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="803394242" paraeid="{88b203c0-05ca-4251-93ee-4da9b35026b4}{61}"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Van<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">Susante</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>L, Janssen L, Bidar E, et al. The long-term impact of a<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">teleprehabilitation</span><span> </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">programme</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span> </span>on modifiable risk factors and quality of life after cardiac surgery.<span> </span></span></span><em><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">Eur</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"> J Cardiothorac Surg</span></span></em><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">. August<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">2026;68:</span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">8</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">.<span> </span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">doi</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">: 10.1093/</span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">ejcts</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">/ezag207</span></span><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW17108361 BCX0"> <p class="Paragraph SCXW17108361 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraid="1762855076" paraeid="{6d860f8d-2109-4f32-aec0-562fa2a7bdfd}{205}"><strong><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US" lang="EN-US" class="TextRun MacChromeBold SCXW17108361 BCX0"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">Image Credit: </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW17108361 BCX0">daria_serdtseva</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0"> </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW17108361 BCX0">– stock.adobe.com</span></span></strong><span class="EOP Selected SCXW17108361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> </div>