29 The use of cardiac rehabilitation for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) patients: a survey of practitioners

<h3>Background</h3> Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) is recommended for TAVI patients post-procedure, however currently there is little information about the provision of CR specifically for TAVI patients, who are often older, multimorbid and more frail than other cardiac patients. <h3>Aim</h3> The study aimed to gain novel insight into the contemporary provision for TAVI patients, to identify and describe current practice and explore the suitability for available CR services. <h3>Methods</h3> An online survey, consisting of 21 items of predominantly closed questions was developed to be distributed to BACPR members. The survey was piloted by researchers and healthcare practitioners prior to recruitment. Questions related to demographics, current CR practice, CR for TAVI, assessments, outcome measures, and delivery. Following university ethical approval, the survey was circulated in 2 emails to the BACPR membership list. The questionnaire was not limited to participants within the UK, but to healthcare practitioners. Basic descriptive statistics were utilised. <h3>Results</h3> The survey yielded 80 responses predominantly from the UK (97.5%) as well as Gibraltar (1.25%) and South Africa (1.25%). The results highlighted that 60% of all practitioners offered CR for all cardiac patients, while only 5% offered CR specifically tailored for TAVI patients, despite 46.3% of respondents believing that TAVI patients should have access to CR. The majority of CR was delivered within out-patient settings (52.5%), with 40% offered within the community. The most frequently used assessments included the 6-minute walk test (20%) and the incremental shuttle walk test (20%). 27.5% of respondents believed that older patients are responsive to CR, and 55% stated that CR can aid in improving patients’ recovery. <h3>Conclusion</h3> TAVI patients had limited access or opportunity to engage in tailored CR. Future research is warranted to develop TAVI specific CR to increase uptake of suitable and accessible CR for the TAVI population.