Recora is an innovative exercise care and cardiac rehabilitation provider. Our services build off of extensive evidence supporting the benefits of home-based cardiac rehabilitation and clinical guidelines for the provision of exercise therapy. Click on any section below to learn more.
Recora recently published its innovative approach in a JAMA Health Forum perspective.
Cardiac rehabilitation is indicated following a heart attack, heart surgery (stent placement, coronary artery bypass surgery, or valvular surgery) as well as for patients who chronically manage congestive heart failure or stable angina. Typical cardiac rehabilitation programs include a few components: aerobic exercise training, nutritional counseling, disease education, psychosocial support, and (if applicable) tobacco cessation. A full course includes 36 supervised aerobic exercise sessions, but cost, transportation, and wait times are often challenges to completing this course. Cardiac benefits and reduced rehospitalizations can be observed after as few as 12 sessions.
This resource from the US Department of Health and Human Services provides a consensus definition of cardiac rehabilitation, which patients are typically covered (driven by CMS guidelines), and links additional primary sources.
This retrospective in the Journal of the American Medical Association highlights many of the reasons why attending cardiac rehabilitation can be difficult for patients.
The US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality retrospective on cardiac outcomes summarizes a country-wide evaluation that revealed only 20% of eligible patients ever utilized cardiac rehabilitation services in 2019.
These programs have been demonstrated to reduce mortality, reduce all-cause hospitalizations, improve health-related quality of life, reduce cardiovascular risk factors (blood pressure, high cholesterol), and improve perceived social support.
In this 10 year longitudinal study, members who participated in CR experienced 50% fewer lifetime all-cause hospitalizations.
In this retrospective study of approximately 600,000 heart attack survivors in the US, patients who completed cardiac rehab were 57% less likely to experience cardiac-related mortality.
This retrospective summarizes numerous past studies, which have demonstrated 45-47% reductions in all-cause mortality, improvements in lipid levels and blood pressure, and 31% lower hospital readmissions in patients undergoing cardiac rehab.
Exercise training and cardiac recovery programs are safe and beneficial for patients with CHF, resulting in significant improvements in quality of life, functional capacity, exercise performance, and heart failure (HF)–related hospitalizations. Despite outcome benefits, cost-effectiveness, and strong practice guideline recommendations, cardiac recovery services remain a critical care gap in the treatment of heart failure.
While the payment landscape is changing, with an increasing proportion of all healthcare dollars flowing through value-based payment models, no longitudinal models currently focus on chronic HF care. Recora’s aligns closely with innovative payors and providers to design value-based arrangements that center on longitudinal care team relationships, CHF-specialized treatment pathways, and recovery care at home.
Home-based cardiac rehab has been both demonstrated as comparably effective and endorsed by professional societies as a comparable alternative to facility-based programs. A home-based program is both easier and safer to attend during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Released in 2019, this joint scientific statement concluded that home-based cardiac rehabilitation is effective for clinically stable patients who are eligible
Kaiser Permanente’s initiative across 2000 individuals demonstrated 87% engagement rates and <2% cardiac related readmissions (vs. national average of 10-15% without cardiac rehabilitation).
This randomized clinical trial’s results suggest that a 6-month home-based mobile CR program for patients 65 years or older with coronary artery disease or a valvular intervention was safe and beneficial in improving peak oxygen uptake when compared with no cardiac rehabilitation.
Our team is growing a novel value-based model to expand home-based cardiac rehabilitation and surpass payer- and patient-facing barriers to making exercise care (and even more specifically, cardiac rehabilitation programs) available to all eligible adults.
COVID-19 has led to the closure of almost 80% of cardiac rehab facilities. In this piece, Recora lays out a value-based model for expanding home-based cardiac rehabilitation, improving cardiovascular outcomes, and reducing cardiovascular spend.
Recora’s coaches include Community Health Workers (CHWs). Three randomized controlled trials demonstrated that a standardized CHW intervention reduced all-cause hospitalizations and improved clinical outcomes. Leveraging CHWs amplifies the impacts of Recora’s clinical programs.
Recora hosts virtual, live exercise sessions that are personalized for patients needing rehabilitation. Our classes run on a weekly basis to encourage group exercise and community. Older adult participation in exercise classes has been shown to increase with improved quality of exercise instructors and diversity in available exercise content.
Recora is committed to helping our members get moving and stay moving, even after they have completed a course of cardiac rehabilitation.
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for mortality, behind blood glucose, blood pressure, and tobacco use.
An estimated 11.1% of healthcare costs (~$117B) are directly associated with a lack of physical activity.
4 in 5 of the most costly chronic conditions among adults 50 years or older can be prevented or managed with physical activity. In 2014, 2 in 3 adults 50+ had at least one chronic disease. Inactivity is 30% higher in those with a chronic disease.