- Seven digital platforms, including Gro Health HeartBuddy, cleared for NHS use to support cardiac rehabilitation
- Tools will run for three years while the NHS gathers real-world data on benefits, costs and equity
- Patients must still be offered traditional rehab, with clinicians deciding who is suitable for digital support
Seven digital platforms to help people recover after heart attacks and other serious cardiac problems have been approved for use across the NHS in England, in a move aimed at widening access to rehabilitation.
New guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), published on 4 December, allows the technologies to be funded from core NHS budgets for an initial three-year “evidence generation” period.
Among the tools given the green light is Gro Health HeartBuddy, a UK-developed platform that delivers structured cardiac rehabilitation remotely.
It joins six other products – Activate Your Heart, D REACH-HF, Digital Heart Manual, KiActiv, myHeart and the Pumping Marvellous Cardiac Rehab Platform – on the approved list.
Cardiac rehabilitation, which typically combines supervised exercise, education and psychological support, is known to cut the risk of further cardiac events and reduce emergency hospital admissions.
But uptake is low: many patients never start a programme, and others drop out because sessions clash with work, caring responsibilities or require long journeys to hospital.
NICE’s expert committee said digital services could help close that gap by offering programmes people can follow at home, at times that suit them, while still being monitored by a cardiac rehab team.
How patients will be offered digital rehab
Under the new recommendations, a trained NHS healthcare professional must assess whether digital rehabilitation is appropriate before patients are offered one of the platforms.
Conventional, face-to-face rehab must remain an option for everyone, and patients should be able to choose the format that works best for them.
Gro Health HeartBuddy is likely to attract particular interest.
Built on the Gro Health platform already used in other long-term conditions and recommended for weight management, it offers personalised exercise and education plans, symptom and activity tracking, and remote support from clinicians.
It is one of four technologies, alongside Activate Your Heart, KiActiv and myHeart, backed by direct clinical evidence suggesting it may help reduce the risk of further cardiovascular events.
Evidence, cost and what happens next
NICE says early economic modelling indicates that all seven approved platforms could be cost effective, but warns that the current evidence base is not strong enough for full, routine adoption.
Over the next three years, the companies behind them must collect and analyse data on clinical outcomes, uptake, adherence, patient experience and cost.
NICE will review that evidence at the end of the period and decide whether the tools should be adopted more widely, restricted, or withdrawn.
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Risks, gaps and inequality concerns
The guidance also highlights potential risks.
There is limited head-to-head evidence comparing digital cardiac rehabilitation directly with traditional supervised programmes, and almost no data on blended models where patients receive a mix of in-person and digital support.
There is also uncertainty about how well these tools work for older people, those in deprived areas, and under-served ethnic groups, all of whom have a higher burden of cardiovascular disease but often lower engagement with rehab.
Another concern is inequality.
People without reliable internet access, smartphones or digital skills, including some older patients, those experiencing homelessness, or those in residential or shared accommodation, may find it harder to use app-based services.
NICE says extra support may be needed for people with visual, hearing or cognitive impairment, reduced manual dexterity, learning disabilities or limited English, and stresses that no one should be forced into digital rehab if it is not a good fit.
Technologies limited to research only
Alongside the seven approved technologies, NICE has identified five others, Beat Better, Datos Health, Get Ready, Luscii vitals and R Plus Health, that it says are not yet ready for NHS rollout.
These may only be used in research, funded by companies or research grants rather than routine NHS budgets, until more robust clinical and economic data are available.
A step towards mainstream digital cardiac rehab
For now, the decision marks a significant step towards bringing digital cardiac rehabilitation into the mainstream.
If the incoming data confirm early signs of benefit and show good value for money, platforms such as Gro Health HeartBuddy could become a standard part of post-heart attack and heart failure care across England.
If not, their use is likely to be scaled back once the three-year evaluation period ends.
