Abstract

Though cardiac rehabilitation is an evidence-based treatment that improves quality of life and prevents cardiovascular events, it is underused. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many centers implemented hybrid and virtual cardiac rehabilitation. However, many questions remain about implementing hybrid and virtual cardiac rehabilitation in the post-pandemic era and whether providing more options for cardiac rehabilitation will actually improve access. In the talk, we will describe current challenges in the delivery of cardiac rehabilitation, appraise new approaches to delivering cardiac rehabilitation, discuss the application of technology, and consider new indications for cardiac rehabilitation.

Biography

Dr. Alexis Beatty, MD, MAS is a cardiologist and health services researcher who studies innovative delivery models for cardiovascular disease care to improve outcomes and reduce disparities. She received a career development award from the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and test a mobile application to improve participation in cardiac rehabilitation, called VA FitHeart. She worked for Apple 2018-2019 and participated in the development of their heart features and Research app. She returned to UCSF in January 2020 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She is also appointed in the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology and sees general cardiology patients.

Dr. Beatty is Director of the UCSF MD/MAS program within the UCSF Training in Clinical Research (TICR) program.

Dr. Beatty's research focuses on developing, testing, and implementing innovative delivery models for cardiac rehabilitation to improve outcomes and reduce disparities. Her interests also include innovative delivery models for cardiovascular prevention and treatment and digital clinical study methods.