Assessment of on-site and remote cardiac rehabilitation in Romania

Abstract

Introduction: It is well known that cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. In Romania in 2015, cardiovascular diseases led to 153.953 deaths, representing 59.3% of deaths from all causes. Most people in Romania today have an unhealthy lifestyle, characterised mainly by a poor nutritious diet, low physical activity and a lack of medical screening. Purpose: Considering these deficits of secondary prevention in the treatment line of the Romanian cardiovascular patient, we aimed through this study to assess the current access of the Romanian population to on-site and remote cardiac rehabilitation programs as well as their opinion regarding the telemedicine for future cardiovascular care modelling. Methods: It was a prospective observational study, which was carried out by means of an online questionnaire composed of 26 items. It was dispersed in the online environment, including Social Media platforms, where it was active for ten weeks. Results: Our online evaluation questionnaire had 1115 participants, with a minimum age of 18 years old, a preponderance of female sex and a predominantly urban background. The study participants were from all educational levels, from low to superior. We observed that most participants have an internet connection at home and use at least one form of technology daily, but most have never used a telemedicine service. Conclusions: In conclusion, the access of cardiovascular patients to on-site cardiac rehabilitation services is extremely low and for remote ones, it is almost non-existent. For a middle-income country like Romania with such a high incidence of cardiovascular disease, it is almost mandatory to provide publicly funded cardiac telerehabilitation services also for the future.