Exploring a physiotherapy well-being review to deliver community-based rehabilitation in patients with pulmonary hypertension

Background

Highly structured, supervised exercise training has been shown to be beneficial in patients with pulmonary hypertension. Despite evidence of the effectiveness of community-based rehabilitation in other cardiopulmonary diseases, there are limited data in patients with pulmonary hypertension.

Methods

This prospective study evaluated the intervention of a physiotherapist well-being review in patients with pulmonary hypertension who had been established on targeted drug therapy for between 3 and 12 months. The intervention included a detailed consultation assessing functional, social and motivational status to identify individual patient rehabilitation goals and facilitate tailored referrals to community-based services.

Results

One hundred and thirty-eight patients (79% pulmonary arterial hypertension, 17% chronic thromboembolic disease), age 67 ± 14 years, diagnosed over a one year period were evaluated between July 2017 and January 2018. Fifty-two per cent of patients were referred to community-based pulmonary rehabilitation programmes, 19% received other forms of community rehabilitation, 17% were given exercise advice, 5% had an assessment of social support and 7% declined any intervention. At the end of the study, 32% of patients were undertaking independent exercise.

Conclusion

This study has identified that the majority of patients with pulmonary hypertension who are optimised on targeted drug therapy have rehabilitation needs. The use of a physiotherapy well-being review can identify this need and facilitate access to community-based rehabilitation. Further research is required to evaluate the efficacy of such interventions in pulmonary hypertension.