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Six digital technologies have been recommended to support cardiac rehabilitation for the first time, aimed at giving patients the option to complete recovery sessions at home.
In draft guidance, published on 19 August 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved the platforms — Activate Your Heart, D REACH-HF, Digital Heart Manual, Gro Health HeartBuddy, KiActiv and myHeart — for NHS use.
Each platform delivers exercise programmes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) education, medication management and psychological support.
The technologies will be available for a three-year evidence generation period while more data are gathered on their long-term effectiveness.
“Some platforms also incorporate wearable devices to monitor activity levels,” the draft guidance said.
Figures published by NICE in July 2025 show that CVD, the second most common cause of death in the UK after dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, affects more than 7.6 million people in the UK.
In 2022, around 175,000 people in the UK died from CVD — with coronary heart disease as the most common cause — which accounts for more than one-quarter (26%) of all deaths.
Premature death from CVD is approximately twice as high among people in the most deprived communities of the UK, compared with those in the least deprived areas, while men are also twice as likely to die from the disease than women.
NICE said that uptake of traditional cardiac rehabilitation programmes has been low.
In 2023, 41% of eligible people with acute coronary syndrome — including heart attack and angina — and 13% of eligible people with heart failure participated in these programmes in England.
“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 added.
NICE said its independent advisory committee has “emphasised that not everyone will be suitable for digital cardiac rehabilitation” and that an NHS healthcare professional must clinically assess a patient before offering these technologies.
Paul Wright, consultant cardiovascular pharmacist at Barts Health NHS Trust, said this is an “excellent example” of digital innovations being used to support gap in patient care.
“We know of the clinical benefits in cardiac rehabilitation programmes when conducting within existing models of face-to-face delivery — despite the known improvements, the uptake nationally remains suboptimal and these platforms may provide individuals with support who otherwise may have declined,” he added.
“Whilst digital technologies are not appropriate for all patients, it is hoped that offering these alongside existing programmes will support improved uptake and ultimately better patient outcomes that will be assessed throughout the next three years.”
Jo Bateman, lead cardiology pharmacist and heart failure service lead at Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, also welcomed the guidance, noting that the technologies could help to overcome “long-standing barriers such as access, transportation, and scheduling constraints”.
“Digital cardiac rehab could significantly increase participation, adherence and patient engagement, particularly among working-age individuals, those in rural areas, or those managing multiple health conditions.”
However, Bateman added: “It will be vital to monitor outcomes, including readmission rates, cardiovascular mortality and patient-reported measures of quality of life to fully assess the impact of this digital transition.
“Considerations will need to include clinical effectiveness, digital literacy support, data privacy safeguards and appropriate commissioning pathways to ensure equity in access. If digital alternatives don’t match or exceed the outcomes of traditional programmes, patients could be placed at increased risk.”
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 [are] promising and suggest, 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.”
NICE has launched a consultation on the guidance, which closes on 3 September 2025.
