Mobile app and telemonitoring improves quality of life and symptoms in patients with heart failure

Key takeaways:

• In the HerzMobil Steiermark programme, a mobile app and telemonitoring by specialists was implemented to support patients discharged from hospital after an acute heart failure episode.
• The telemedicine programme improved quality of life, symptoms, levels of self-care and was well accepted.
• Telehealth strategies have the potential to improve the care of patients with heart failure and prospective research is now needed to evaluate long-term clinical outcomes and scalability.

Basel, Switzerland - 13 November 2026: A telemedicine-based management programme was well accepted among patients with heart failure and improved their quality of life and self-care, according to results presented today at ESC Digital & AI Summit 2026 [1].

Patients with heart failure suffer a triad of high mortality rates, frequent rehospitalisations and reduced quality of life. Telemonitoring-based programmes have emerged as promising approaches to support the continuity of care, particularly following hospital discharge when patients are at high risk of re-admission and mortality.

Study presenter, Doctor Andreas Prenner from the Styrian Hospital Corporation (KAGes), Graz, Austria, explained: "Remote telemonitoring provides a way of integrating care, bringing general practitioners together with specialist doctors and nurses to support the daily needs of the patient. Such programmes can also educate patients and empower them to play an active role in their own care. We evaluated acceptance, quality of life and self-care behaviour in patients discharged after an acute heart failure episode who took part in the telemedicine-supported HerzMobil Steiermark programme."

The multidisciplinary, remote telemonitoring HerzMobil programme was developed in Austria, with feasibility shown in a small pilot study [2]. At the ESC Digital & AI Summit, results were presented from patients taking part in the HerzMobil Steiermark programme at nine centres in the Styria region from 2019 to 2025. Patients used a simply designed app, which was linked to a weighing scale and a blood pressure and heart rate monitor for daily transmission of data. Patients were also asked to record details of whether they took their medication and how they felt each day. The data were regularly reviewed by a network of specialised nurses and physicians, who could send messages directly to the patient and arrange phone calls or in-person visits when needed.

Data were analysed from 1,709 questionnaires collected at baseline and 1,526 after three months of follow-up.

In total, 75% of participants were aged over 60 years and 74% were male. The vast majority (90%) of patients reported independent device use and 90% rated handling and data transmission as easy.

The programme demonstrated clinically relevant improvements in health status and quality of life, measured using the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ). The overall summary KCCQ score (range: 0-100) increased from 62.6 points at baseline to 76.9 points after three months in the programme. Improvements were seen across all KCCQ domains, including reductions in physical limitations and symptom burden, and better self-efficacy and quality of life.

Likewise, there were high levels of self­care behaviours at programme completion, measured using the European Heart Failure Self-Care Behaviour Scale. High adherence was reported for daily weight monitoring (97%), medication intake (98%), physical activity (91%) and fluid management (88%). In addition, 89% of patients reported confidence in managing symptoms such as breathlessness.

Patient satisfaction with the programme was high: 94% considered telemonitoring a valuable concept and would recommend it to other patients. Almost 60% of programme participants expressed interest in continuing to use telemonitoring.

"Findings from our large, real-world analysis support integrating multidisciplinary telemonitoring care pathways into long-term heart failure management strategies," noted Doctor Prenner. "The next steps are to conduct prospective research to consider long-term clinical outcomes, scalability and disparities in programme participation, particularly why there was underrepresentation of female patients. The programme also has potential to be used in other atherosclerotic diseases, such as peripheral artery disease, and in other chronic conditions," he concluded.

ENDS