Do heart texts improve lifestyle adherence?
A text-and-internet cardiac rehab program improved short-term lifestyle adherence after CHD, but the benefit faded by 6 months.
Source
Text Message and Internet Support for Coronary Heart Disease Self-Management: Results From the Text4Heart Randomized Controlled Trial
What they did
New Zealand adults with coronary heart disease were randomized to usual care plus a 24-week Text4Heart mHealth cardiac rehabilitation program or usual care alone. Researchers tracked adherence to recommended lifestyle behaviours at 3 and 6 months plus medication adherence and lipids.
What they found
Lifestyle adherence rose more in the intervention arm at 3 months (AOR 2.55) but the difference was not significant at 6 months. Medication adherence scores were better with Text4Heart; LDL differences were borderline.
The limits
What it doesn't show
The trial was modest in size, relied on self-reported behaviours for the primary outcome, and does not prove fewer hard cardiac events over long follow-up.
Key terms
- Cardiac rehabilitation
- Structured program of education, exercise, and support after a cardiac event to reduce future risk.
- mHealth
- Health interventions delivered through mobile phones, including SMS and related internet tools.
- Lifestyle adherence
- Following recommended behaviours such as diet, activity, smoking cessation, and alcohol limits.
- CHD
- Coronary heart disease—narrowing or blockage of coronary arteries that supply the heart.
- AOR
- Adjusted odds ratio comparing odds of an outcome between groups after statistical adjustment.
Flashcards
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Quiz yourself
Text4Heart primarily targeted which patients?
Common questions
Who was enrolled?
123 adults with CHD in New Zealand, mostly men, mean age about 60.
What did Text4Heart deliver?
An mHealth-delivered comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program using participants' own phones.
When was the main benefit seen?
Lifestyle adherence was significantly better at 3 months but not at 6 months.
Did medication taking improve?
Yes—secondary analyses showed higher medication adherence scores with the intervention.
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