A new smartphone app could help heart attack patients recover faster and better cope with the trauma associated with such life-threatening experiences, its makers claim.
The 'Day-By-Day' app claims to help patients through a step-by-step recovery process using live digital coaches, videos, articles and food journals, to help patients implement lifestyle changes.
The app, which is launching through a trial programme at Duke University, is an extension of Vida Health's current smartphone app, which provides health coaching services for a range of chronic conditions.
"We've already seen that we've improved outcomes and lowered costs for other needs - Seven out of eight people lose weight using Vida Health," Stephanie Tilenius, CEO of Vida Health, which teamed with British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to launch the app.
Heart attack patients are often recommended to make lifestyle changes to prevent a second attack. Under such circumstances, people may experience emotions of anxiety, depression and information overload, 'fortune.Com' reported.
During this period hands-on rehabilitation can make a significant difference to the patients lives, helping them understand what medications to take when, how to change their eating habits or quit smoking, and how to develop an exercise routine.
According to a 2005 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, sticking to a new medication regimen is a major concern for heart attack patients.
Poor adherence to drug regimens generally causes about 33 per cent to 69 per cent of medication-related hospitalisations and accounts for 100 billion USD in annual health care costs in US, the study found.
