Virtual Reality Assisted Patient Empowerment: Diagnose ATTR-Amyloidosis And Start Treatment (VRAP-DAAST)

ATTR amyloidosis is a serious condition with significant morbidity and mortality. In Germany, there are numerous unreported cases of untreated patients, and diagnosing and initiating treatment often requires multiple specialized tests. To address this, a study is being conducted to determine if virtual reality (VR)-based patient education can improve diagnosis rates, treatment initiation, and medication adherence compared to standard education methods.

Tafamidis is effective in reducing mortality and hospitalization in patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), and adherence to the drug is generally high. However, the main challenge lies in timely diagnosis and initiation of therapy. Virtual reality (VR) offers an immersive educational tool that surpasses conventional methods like brochures and videos, with patients preferring VR glasses. By preparing patients through VR, they can engage in informed conversations with physicians, understand the diagnostic process better, and be motivated to initiate therapy promptly. VR empowers patients and saves valuable time for physicians, and it has been well-received even among older cardiovascular patients

In this intervention, VR glasses with an information module are utilized, lasting approximately 25 minutes. This intervention takes place in the waiting room prior to the actual physician-patient conversation and complements the usual care provided through brochures

In this intervention, VR glasses with an information module are utilized, lasting approximately 25 minutes. This intervention takes place in the waiting room prior to the actual physician-patient conversation and complements the usual care provided through brochures

Virtual Reality assisted information Patients in the intervention group receive a VR instructional application lasting approximately 25 minutes. This intervention takes place in the waiting room prior to the actual physician-patient conversation and complements the usual care provided through brochures.

Count days after first use of VR until the final diagnosis or prescription of tafamidis is given. [time frame: xx days] 1. Time-to-Event [days] Count days after first use of VR until the final diagnosis or prescription of tafamidis is given. [time frame: xx days] Count days after first use of VR until the final diagnosis or prescription of tafamidis is given

In order to test to assess the health literacy at baseline, a health literacy questionnaire will be asked

In order to test to what extent the addition of a combination of different learning modalities (acoustic, visual, written, haptic) implemented in virtual reality to the medico-legal informed consent is superior to the standard informed consent, a survey is conducted after the informed consent using a health literacy questionnaire

In order to test to what extent the addition of a combination of different learning modalities (acoustic, visual, written, haptic) implemented in virtual reality to the medico-legal informed consent is superior to the standard informed consent, a survey is conducted after the informed consent in terms of long term effects using a health literacy questionnaire

patients are contacted and information is gathered about survival of the patients and possible rehospitalization events due to cardiac events

KCCQ will be used to assess the general the patient's perception of their health status. In the KCCQ-12, responses are given on a Likert scale that for each individual item is scored on a scale of 0-100 with higher scores indicating better health

A SSQ will assess for VR associated compatibility. SSQ asks participants to provide subjective severity ratings of 16 symptoms on a scale from 0 (no perception) to 3 (severe perception) after the exposure. Total scores can be associated with negligible (< 5), minimal (5 - 10), significant (10 - 15), and concerning (15 - 20) symptoms

Inclusion Criteria: patients who present themselves for assessment of an unclear septal thickening with suspicion of cardiac amyloidosis. Exclusion Criteria: < 18 years Active Medication with tafamidis Cardiovascular Disease highly impaired vision or hearing advanced dementia syndrome epilepsy insufficient language skills

University-Hospital Düsseldorf Division of Cardiology, Pulmonary Disease and Vascular Medicine [Recruiting] Düsseldorf, Germany, 40225