Objective
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is caused by an accumulation of plaques within the walls of the arteries that supply the myocardium with oxygen and nutrients. After decades of progression, some of these plaques may rupture and along with the activation of the blood clotting system limit blood flow to the myocardium, resulting in an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This may be either a heart attack (myocardial infarction) meaning that muscle cell necrosis in the affected regions of the myocardium has occurred) or unstable angina (meaning that the patient has persistent or recurrent chest pain at rest but without evidence of myocardial necrosis). Risk factors comprise age, sex, family history but also lifestyle-related aspects such as smoking habits, physical inactivity, overweight/obesity etc. Despite the advantages, utilization of cardiac rehabilitation phase III remains low. Recent research is supportive of the beneficial effects of cardiac rehabilitation in patients with heart failure as well as in older patients. Unfortunately, cardiac rehabilitation continues to be considerably underutilized with poor referral and enrollment rates. Implementing quality performance measures, automated referral systems, and the option of home-based cardiac rehabilitation for some patients may all help to increase participation. In addition, innovative exercise training regimens may help to enhance the beneficial effects of cardiac rehabilitation. HEARTWAYS has the objective to develop an advanced modular solution for supporting cardiac patients in rehabilitation outside a medicalized centre with the aid of wearable sensors and intelligent algorithms that personalize the management and the follow-up for patients and professionals.
Fields of science
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
FP7-SME-2012
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Funding Scheme
BSG-SME - Research for SMEsCoordinator
46980 PATERNA VALENCIA
Spain