The impact of post discharge virtual cardiac remote monitoring for patients with acute coronary syndrome during HAJJ season 1445H- KAMC experience

Objective

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the leading cause of death during Hajj. We evaluated a virtual monitoring system to enhance care, enable earlier discharge, and reduce readmissions.

Method

The current study is a prospectively collected data from 100 consecutive ACS patients who were admitted at our institution during the 2 weeks of the Hajj season 1445H.

Result

The mean age of our population was 57.2 ± 10.8 years; more than two-thirds were males, 29 % were non-Arabic speakers with variable-associated morbidities (51 %, 52 %, 32 %, and 30 % for DM, HTN, smoking, and dyslipidemia, respectively). More than a third of patients (43 %) fulfilled the criteria of STEMI, 14 % had severe LV systolic dysfunction in their echocardiogram, and (Bauer et al., 2022 21)% had multivessel disease in the index angiogram. Regarding intervention, 64 % underwent PCI (10 % needed staged procedure), CABG was done in 11 %, and device therapy was utilized in 4 % of cases. Implementing a remote mentoring approach during the hajj crisis facilitated the early discharge of ACS patients (78 % and 14 % within 3 and 5 days, respectively) and this was reflected in a reduced rate of readmission and ED attendance ((Shimemeri and Abdullah., 2012 1)% and 4 % respectively) with close management of patient-reported symptoms.

Conclusions

RPM appears safe and cost-effective for post-discharge ACS care during Hajj, reducing readmissions and hospital burden. However, the absence of a contemporaneous control group limits causal inference, and outcomes are compared to historical benchmarks. Despite this limitation, the study provides novel, prospective evidence supporting the feasibility and impact of RPM in a mass-gathering setting.