Exercise prescription by physiotherapists to patients with cardiovascular disease is in greater agreement with European recommendations after using the EXPERT training tool

Background Exercise prescriptions by clinicians to patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) often disagree with recommendations, thus requiring improvement. Aim To assess whether exercise prescriptions by physiotherapists to patients with CVD are better in agreement with European (ESC/EAPC) recommendations when the EXPERT (EXercise Prescription in Everyday practice & Rehabilitative Training) Training tool is used for digital educational training. Design In a prospective non-randomized intervention study. Methods Twenty-three belgian physiotherapists first prescribed exercise intensity, frequency, session duration, program duration and exercise type (endurance or strength training) for the same three patient cases, from which the agreement with ESC/EAPC recommendations (based on a maximal score of 60/per case: agreement score) was assessed. Next, they completed a one-month digital training by using the EXPERT Training tool and completed 31 +/- 13 training cases. The EXPERT tool is a training and decision support system that automatically generates a (personalised) exercise prescription according to the patient's characteristics, thus integrating the exercise prescriptions for different CVDs and risk factors, all based on ESC/EAPC recommendations. Thereafter, the same three patient cases as at entry of study were filled out again, with re-assessment of level of agreement with ESC/EAPC recommendations. Results After using the EXPERT Training tool, the physiotherapists prescribed significantly greater exercise frequencies, program durations and total exercise volumes in all three patient cases (p < 0.05). In cases 1, 2 and 3, the agreement score increased from 29 +/- 9 (out of 60), 28 +/- 9, and 34 +/- 7 to 41 +/- 9, 41 +/- 10, and 45 +/- 8, respectively (p < 0.001). Hence, the total agreement score increased from 91 +/- 17 (out of 180) to 127 +/- 19 (p < 0.001, +44 +/- 32%). A lower starting agreement score and younger age correlated with a greater improvement in total agreement score (p < 0.05). Conclusions Exercise prescriptions to patients with CVD, generated by physiotherapists, are significantly better in agreement with European recommendations when the EXPERT Training tool is used, indicating its educational potential.

Automated summary

Exercise prescriptions for cardiovascular disease patients by physiotherapists show better agreement with European recommendations when using the EXPERT Training tool. The tool leads to increased exercise frequency, program duration, and total exercise volume. The study highlights the educational potential of the tool.