Feasibility for the enhancement of an online support system for persons with metabolic syndrome, aimed at applications for ischemic heart disease and heart failure

Previously, we developed of an online support system for persons with metabolic syndrome. In this study, we investigated the possibility of enhancing our system for applications in ischemic heart disease (IHD) and heart failure (HF). The main causes of IHD are obesity, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, hyperglycemia and other metabolic disorders. These conditions are related to lifestyle issues, such as diet and exercise. Dietary management becomes more difficult as the patient´s condition worsens. We primarily focused on behavior changes. To raise the user´s awareness of food intake, we improved a number of functions of the developed system: an entry of the user´s lifestyle information, a calculation of the total calorie intake and a reference of food model pictures in 80 kcal standard quantities. IHD encompasses many of the causes of HF. Management tools appropriate for HF are few. We describe the main functions of our system and promote self-management as a requirement for IHD and HF. We expect that the framework of our system is applicable to the management of patients with chronic HF.