Could a texting app help your heart?

Regular text message reminders can help people with heart disease stick to a healthier lifestyle, Australian researchers report. Patients who received automated text messages throughout their week saw improvements in their "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, blood pressure and weight, the study found. The text messages even helped many quit smoking, the researchers added. The clinical trial provides some of the first evidence that simple, low-cost mobile communications programs and apps can help people adopt healthier habits, said study author Clara Chow, an associate professor at the University of Sydney Medical School and acting director of the cardiovascular division at the George Institute for Global Health.
"In our fast-paced society, patients are leaving hospitals so quickly now after suffering a heart attack. They are given so much information in hospital, and it's easy to become confused," Chow said. The text messages "provide advice, support and encouragement in personalized bite-size chunks about making those behavior changes that are so difficult to make after a heart attack," she explained. In the study, published in the Sept. 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, half of a group of 700 heart disease patients were assigned to receive four text messages each week for six months. Both groups started with similar heart risk factors, on average.
The messages were selected from a bank of messages by an automated computer messaging system that took each patient's individual health risks into account, the study authors said. For example, a smoker might receive messages that encourage quitting, or those struggling with their weight might get tips on eating right or exercising. "Messages were often personalized with [a] name," Chow said. "For example, 'Hi Mike, don't forget physical activity is good for you! It reduces your risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke and their complications.'" After six months, levels of "bad" cholesterol were lower in participants who received text messages compared with those who didn't (the "control" group), the researchers found. Those on the text message system also had lower blood pressure levels and lower body mass index (a measurement of body fat based on height and weight). Health Day

 

Could a texting app help your heart?

Regular text message reminders can help people with heart disease stick to a healthier lifestyle, Australian researchers report. Patients who received automated text messages throughout their week saw improvements in their bad LDL cholesterol levels, blood pressure and weight, the study found. The text messages even helped many quit smoking, the researchers added. The clinical trial provides some of the first evidence that simple, low-cost mobile communications programs and apps can help people adopt healthier habits, said study author Clara Chow, an associate professor at the University of Sydney Medical School and acting director of the cardiovascular division at the George Institute for Global Health. In our fast-paced society, patients are leaving hospitals so quickly now after suffering a heart attack. They are given so much information in hospital, and its easy to become confused, Chow said. The text messages provide advice, support and encouragement in personalized bite-size chunks about making those behavior changes that are so difficult to make after a heart attack, she explained. In the study, published in the Sept. 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, half of a group of 700 heart disease patients were assigned to receive four text messages each week for six months. Both groups started with similar heart risk factors, on average. The messages were selected from a bank of messages by an automated computer messaging system that took each patients individual health risks into account, the study authors said. For example, a smoker might receive messages that encourage quitting, or those struggling with their weight might get tips on eating right or exercising. Messages were often personalized with [a] name, Chow said. For example, Hi Mike, dont forget physical activity is good for you! It reduces your risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke and their complications. After six months, levels of bad cholesterol were lower in participants who received text messages compared with those who didnt (the control group), the researchers found. Those on the text message system also had lower blood pressure levels and lower body mass index (a measurement of body fat based on height and weight). Health Day