Heart patients to be offered rehab online under new draft guidance
Six online platforms have been conditionally recommended to support adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in new draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).
They are Activate Your Heart, D REACH-HF, Digital Heart Manual, Gro Health HeartBuddy, KiActiv and myHeart.
CVD is a general term for conditions that impact the heart or blood vessels.
It is estimated that it affects around seven million people in the UK.
However, uptake for cardiac rehabilitation programmes, which can reduce the risk of further heart problems and hospital admissions, is low, according to Nice.
Each platform is designed to offer cardiac rehabilitation online, including exercise programmes, advice on diet, medication management and psychological support.
Some of the platforms also include wearable devices to monitor activity levels.
Dr Anastasia Chalkidou, healthtech programme director at Nice, said: 'These digital platforms offer real potential to transform how cardiac rehabilitation is offered to people to meet their individual circumstances.
'We know that traditional programmes aren't reaching everyone who could benefit – particularly women, younger patients and people from ethnic minority backgrounds.'
Before the online platforms are offered as an option, patients must be assessed by a healthcare professional.
More support may be needed for older people, those with disabilities, homeless patients or those whose first language is not English, Nice suggests.
The six platforms will be used on the NHS over the next three years to generate more evidence and data on their long-term effectiveness.
Dr Chalkidou added: 'The early data is promising and suggests, with safeguards in place, more people should now be given the opportunity to use these new technologies.
'This three-year evidence collection period will give us the additional robust data we need to determine whether these innovations should be recommended as a permanent part of cardiac care.'
A consultation on the conditional recommendation is now underway and will close on September 3.
Seven other platforms – Beat Better, Datos Health, Get Ready, Luscii vitals, Pumping Marvellous Cardiac Rehab Platform, R Plus Health and Sword Move – require more research before they can be funded by the NHS, Nice said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
The new technology for prosthetic legs that could reduce NHS waiting lists by 50%
A new technology could reduce NHS waiting lists for prosthetic legs by half, a study has found. The software personalises prosthetic leg fittings based on data from previous patients. The data-driven fittings for below the knee prosthetics were, on average, as comfortable for patients as those created by highly skilled prosthetists, the NHS trial suggested. Technology developed by Radii Devices and the University of Southampton is hoping to halve the number of clinical visits for the fitting from an average of four to two using the software. The new technology is built to provide a personalised 'socket' using data from other fittings and a 3D scan of the residual limb to immediately generate a basic design. The CEO and founder of Radii Devices, Dr Joshua Steer, said analysing hundreds of previous sockets allowed them to 'identify trends' between different patient characteristics. 'We can then scan a new patient's residual limb and generate a personalised design recommendation based on features that have been successful for similar patients in the past,' he explained. The results of an NHS trial published on Friday in JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology suggest the new designs are on average as comfortable as those created by a prosthetist. Nineteen sockets were made for 17 participants, as two participants were double amputees, and all bar one of the sockets were above the 'NHS comfort score target', the Radii Devices CEO said. Of those 19 sockets, six of the new designs were reportedly more comfortable than normal prosthetics, while five were less and eight were very similar. Prosthetic sockets are personalised to ensure they are comfortable and functional, as they need to bear a person's body weight without damaging limb tissue or creating discomfort. Traditionally, a prosthetist makes a plaster cast of the leg and reshapes it to produce a socket which achieves the right balance, producing trial versions before settling on a definitive one. Radii Devices says the NHS currently tries to deliver a prosthetic in four clinical visits roughly a month from their first appointment, while the new system can aim for a 'gold standard' of two appointments. Alex Dickinson, Professor of Prosthetics Engineering at the University of Southampton – who helped to develop the new method, acknowledges that it has limits. He said: 'Only a highly skilled prosthetist can identify things like bone spurs and neuromas, and know how to tweak designs to avoid causing pain or damage at these sensitive areas. 'We developed the data-driven socket design approach to save prosthetists' time by giving them a solid base to work from so they can use their expertise where it is most valuable, in making precise adaptations tailored to their patients' specific needs. 'The method effectively helps prosthetists to learn from each other.' Another co-author, Professor Maggie Donovan-Hall, said it was 'surprising and encouraging' that the data-driven sockets performed so well in a test designed as a 'worst case' scenario where they received no additional input from prosthetists. Nearly 100 people have now had a prosthetic leg designed this way, across multiple centres in the UK and the USA. The study has now moved into its final stage where the new software is developed alongside clinicians to see how it can be best incorporated into their practices.
The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
New software could reduce NHS waiting lists for prosthetic legs, study finds
New software which personalises prosthetic leg fittings based on data from previous patients could help reduce NHS waiting lists, a study has found. The data-driven fittings for below the knee prosthetics were, on average, as comfortable for patients as those created by highly skilled prosthetists, the NHS trial suggested. Technology developed by Radii Devices and the University of Southampton is hoping to halve the number of clinical visits for the fitting from an average of four to two using the software. The new technology is built to provide a personalised 'socket' using data from other fittings and a 3D scan of the residual limb to immediately generate a basic design. The CEO and founder of Radii Devices, Dr Joshua Steer, said analysing hundreds of previous sockets allowed them to 'identify trends' between different patient characteristics. 'We can then scan a new patient's residual limb and generate a personalised design recommendation based on features that have been successful for similar patients in the past,' he explained. The results of an NHS trial published on Friday in JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology suggest the new designs are on average as comfortable as those created by a prosthetist. Nineteen sockets were made for 17 participants, as two participants were double amputees, and all bar one of the sockets were above the 'NHS comfort score target', the Radii Devices CEO said. Of those 19 sockets, six of the new designs were reportedly more comfortable than normal prosthetics, while five were less and eight were very similar. Prosthetic sockets are personalised to ensure they are comfortable and functional, as they need to bear a person's body weight without damaging limb tissue or creating discomfort. Traditionally, a prosthetist makes a plaster cast of the leg and reshapes it to produce a socket which achieves the right balance, producing trial versions before settling on a definitive one. Radii Devices says the NHS currently tries to deliver a prosthetic in four clinical visits roughly a month from their first appointment, while the new system can aim for a 'gold standard' of two appointments. Alex Dickinson, Professor of Prosthetics Engineering at the University of Southampton – who helped to develop the new method, acknowledges that it has limits. He said: 'Only a highly skilled prosthetist can identify things like bone spurs and neuromas, and know how to tweak designs to avoid causing pain or damage at these sensitive areas. 'We developed the data-driven socket design approach to save prosthetists' time by giving them a solid base to work from so they can use their expertise where it is most valuable, in making precise adaptations tailored to their patients' specific needs. 'The method effectively helps prosthetists to learn from each other.' Another co-author, Professor Maggie Donovan-Hall, said it was 'surprising and encouraging' that the data-driven sockets performed so well in a test designed as a 'worst case' scenario where they received no additional input from prosthetists. Nearly 100 people have now had a prosthetic leg designed this way, across multiple centres in the UK and the USA. The study has now moved into its final stage where the new software is developed alongside clinicians to see how it can be best incorporated into their practices.
Western Telegraph
44 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Manufacturers given 18 months to cut sugar and salt in baby food products
Accompanying new guidelines to clarify labelling on baby food will help parents make informed choices about what they feed their children, the Department of Health and Social Care said. Manufacturers will be challenged to change the recipes for their products to reduce levels of salt and sugar, without the use of sweeteners, which are not permitted for use in commercial baby food. For example, baby desserts and breakfasts such as rice pudding, custard and ready-to-eat fruity porridge should contain less than 10g of total sugar per 100g, while baby meals should have no more than 60mg of salt per 100 calories or 100mg per 100 calories if cheese is included in the recipe. Too often, parents are bombarded with confusing labels, disguising unhealthy foods packed with hidden sugars and salt Public health minister Ashley Dalton The guidelines will also tackle misleading labelling that often conflicts with official feeding advice. For example, some products labelled as snacks for babies from seven months on directly contradict government recommendations that children aged between six and 12 months do not need snacks between meals, only milk. Manufacturers will also be told to stop using misleading marketing claims that make products appear healthier than they are, for example products with labels such as 'contains no nasties' when they may be high in sugar. The move comes as data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, published in June, shows that more than two thirds of children aged 18 months to three years are eating too much sugar, while more than a fifth of children aged four to five years are overweight or living with obesity in England. High sugar intake in children's diets is a significant factor contributing to high rates of childhood obesity in the UK, which is among the highest in western Europe. Obesity rates have doubled since the 1990s, including among children. Obesity costs the NHS £11.4 billion a year and is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Public health minister Ashley Dalton said: 'Every child deserves a healthy, happy start to life. But babies' development is being harmed by poor diets and unhealthy food, holding them back and piling up pressure on the NHS. It should not even be possible to sell baby food that goes against official feeding guidance, and the public agrees, with three in four people supporting a ban on high-sugar baby foods Katharine Jenner, Obesity Health Alliance 'Too often, parents are bombarded with confusing labels, disguising unhealthy foods packed with hidden sugars and salt. 'Our plan for change will tackle this, giving parents the information they need and providing children with good nutritious food. 'I'm determined to make it far easier for parents to keep their children healthy. 'From working with influencers to get children exercising, to banning junk food ads near schools, our 10-year health plan will help kids today be part of the healthiest generation of children ever.' Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: 'For too long, commercial baby foods have been promoting high-sugar products disguised as 'healthy options', using misleading packaging. 'These new guidelines put the industry on notice: this practice must end. 'Making it easier for parents to buy healthier products is a baby step in the right direction – but what's really needed is a giant leap. 'It should not even be possible to sell baby food that goes against official feeding guidance, and the public agrees, with three in four people supporting a ban on high-sugar baby foods. Our research has consistently shown excessive levels of sugars in commercial baby foods Dr Kawther Hashem, Action on Sugar 'If the industry fails to act quickly, the Government must step in with mandatory rules to set children up for a lifetime of good health.' Dr Kawther Hashem, head of research and impact at Action on Sugar, said: 'Our research has consistently shown excessive levels of sugars in commercial baby foods. 'These long-overdue voluntary guidelines are a step in the right direction, but they must not be the final word. 'Consuming too much sugar on a regular basis means children are taking in excess calories that, if not used for energy, are stored as fat. 'This increases the risk of weight gain and, if it starts early, that excess weight is often carried into adolescence and adulthood, raising the risk of overweight, obesity and agonising tooth decay. 'If we're serious about protecting our youngest children, these guidelines must be made mandatory. 'We urge the Government to closely monitor progress and act swiftly if companies fail to change.' The industry has been warned to clean up their act with voluntary guidelines, but to truly protect children, mandatory standards are needed Dr Hannah Brisden, Food Foundation Professor Simon Kenny, NHS England's national clinical director for children and young people, said: 'I can't overstate just how important good nutrition is during these formative months for babies' health in the long term, and you can't beat fresh foods. 'Reducing the salt and sugar levels in shop-bought baby food is a really important step, and these new guidelines alongside clearer labelling will help empower busy parents to make nutritious choices that give their children the best possible start in life.' Dr Hannah Brisden, head of policy and advocacy at the Food Foundation, said: 'Giving every child the best start in life begins with good nutrition. 'Today's announcement on commercial baby foods highlights the need to protect families from aggressive marketing and end misleading claims on sugary products. 'Our research found up to 43 claims on a single baby snack, despite many being high in sugar. 'The industry has been warned to clean up their act with voluntary guidelines, but to truly protect children, mandatory standards are needed. 'We urge the Government to monitor progress closely and be ready to step in if companies don't act.'
