People with heart disease will be able to do their recovery
sessions from home rather than travelling for rehabilitation
appointments after NICE conditionally recommended 6 digital
platforms for use in the NHS.
Draft guidance published today (Tuesday 19 August 2025)
conditionally recommends six digital technologies that can
support cardiac rehabilitation for adults with cardiovascular
disease in the NHS.
The innovative platforms - Activate Your Heart, D REACH-HF,
Digital Heart Manual, Gro Health HeartBuddy, KiActiv and myHeart
- can be used during a three-year evidence generation period
while more data is collected to address uncertainties about their
long-term effectiveness.
Each platform delivers exercise programmes, education related to
cardiovascular disease and its treatment, dietary advice,
medication management and psychological support. Some platforms
also incorporate wearable devices to monitor activity levels.
Cardiovascular disease affects millions of people across the UK,
yet uptake of traditional cardiac rehabilitation programmes has
been low. In 2023, only 41% of eligible people with acute
coronary syndrome, which includes heart attack and angina, and
13% of those with heart failure participated in cardiac
rehabilitation programmes in England.
Cardiac rehabilitation is a proven treatment that reduces the
risk of further heart problems and hospital readmissions. Digital
platforms could therefore provide support to communities where
uptake remains persistently low, particularly among women,
younger people, ethnic minorities, those in deprived areas and
those who struggle to attend face-to-face sessions.
NICE's independent advisory committee has emphasised that not
everyone will be suitable for digital cardiac rehabilitation. A
trained NHS healthcare professional must conduct a full clinical
assessment before offering these technologies to ensure they are
appropriate for each individual patient.
Dr Anastasia Chalkidou, HealthTech programme director at
NICE, said: "These digital platforms offer real
potential to transform how cardiac rehabilitation is offered to
people to meet their individual circumstances. We know that
traditional programmes aren't reaching everyone who could benefit
- particularly women, younger patients and people from ethnic
minority backgrounds.
"The early data is promising and suggests, with safeguards in
place, more people should now be given the opportunity to use
these new technologies. This three-year evidence collection
period will give us the additional robust data we need to
determine whether these innovations should be recommended as a
permanent part of cardiac care."
The guidance also suggests additional support may be needed for
older people, those with disabilities, people experiencing
homelessness, or those who don't have English as a first
language.
Seven other digital technologies - Beat Better, Datos Health, Get
Ready, Luscii vitals, Pumping Marvellous Cardiac Rehab Platform,
R Plus Health and Sword Move - require more research before they
can be funded by the NHS and should only be used in research
settings.
Following the three-year evidence generation period, NICE will
review all available data to determine whether the technologies
should be routinely adopted across the NHS.
A consultation on the draft recommendations has now begun, and
comments can be submitted via the NICE website until Wednesday 3
September 2025.
-ENDS-
About the guidance
- The draft guidance/guidance will be available
at https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-hte10060 from
Tuesday 19 August 2025.
- Embargoed copies of the draft guidance can be downloaded
here: https://dmscdn.vuelio.co.uk/publicitem/215e513c-0ebe-4eea-8214-595159affb31
- NICE HealthTech guidance applies to England only.
