In a special “spotlight” edition of the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) focusing on advancements in health care technologies and innovations, several articles authored by researchers in the Johns Hopkins Medicine mTECH REHAB lab are featured, highlighting the collective and individual work led by principal investigator Dr. Seth Martin, professor in the Division of Cardiology.
The Jan. 16 publication showcases a series of articles from the American Heart Association’s Strategically Focused Research Network (SFRN) on Health Technologies Innovation. The articles, which include original research, study protocols, reviews and viewpoints, comprise the work of the SFRN’s five academic centers to validate or create scalable, engaging, evidence-based health tech tools for clinicians and patients with the potential to improve health for people across the socioeconomic spectrum.
Articles include:
This viewpoint emphasizes the importance of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in preventing complications, reducing hospitalizations and mortality and enhancing quality of life. Despite its effectiveness, CR participation remains low, particularly among some demographics due to barriers such as transportation and time constraints. Home-based and hybrid models leveraging health technology strive for access that is more fair, aligning with major cardiovascular organizations’ recommendations for improved patient outcomes and health equity.
Authors: Anjali Bhatla, Chang Kim, Mansi Nimbalkar, Anthony Ng-Thow-Hing, Nino Isakadze, Erin Spaulding, Amanda Zaleski, Kelly Craig, Dorothea Verbrugge, Patrick Dunn, Divya Nag, Deepali Bankar, Seth Martin, Francoise Marvel (members of the DOM are listed in bold)
“Impact of a Corrie Cardiac Rehabilitation Program” (protocol)
This paper discusses a clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of Corrie Hybrid CR, a tech-based intervention alongside standard cardiac rehabilitation versus standard CR alone for patients recovering from cardiac events or procedures. By employing a mobile app, Food and Drug Administration-approved devices for health data collection, in-center sessions, a mix of in-center and home-based exercises, clinician dashboards and virtual coaching, the trial aims to improve functional capacity, cardiovascular health and participation, thus enhancing cardiac rehabilitation accessibility and equity.
Authors: Nino Isakadze, Chang Kim, Francoise Marvel, Jie Ding, Zane MacFarlane, Yumin Gao, Erin Spaulding, Kerry Stewart, Mansi Nimbalkar, Alexandra Bush, Ashley Broderick, Jeanmarie Gallagher, Nancy Molello, Yvonne Commodore-Mensah, Erin Michos, Patrick Dunn, Daniel Hanley, Nichol McBee, Seth Martin, Lena Mathews (members of the DOM are listed in bold)
The publication’s editorial also features Dr. Martin and Dr. Francoise Marvel, assistant professor in the Division of Cardiology, which includes CEO of the AHA, Nancy Brown, as senior author to demonstrate the priority of digital health science and how top teams such as Johns Hopkins Medicine are advancing digital health science and implementation to improve our nation’s cardiovascular health.
