Virtual Coaching for Cardiac Rehabilitation

(STRIVE Trial)

Overseen By Julia von Oppenfeld

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco

Disqualifiers: Cognitive impairment, Unstable conditions, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

286 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial tests whether virtual coaching and social support can help individuals maintain exercise habits after completing cardiac rehabilitation. The goal is to determine if these digital tools can encourage physical activity and improve heart health by reducing sedentary time, boosting fitness, and tracking exercise. Participants will be divided into two groups: one using a mobile app with coaching and social support, and another using the app alone. The trial seeks individuals aged 55 and older who have completed most of their cardiac rehab sessions and have a history of heart issues, such as heart attacks or bypass surgery.

As an unphased study, this trial offers a unique opportunity to explore innovative digital tools that could enhance participants' heart health journey.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It is best to consult with the trial coordinators or your healthcare provider for guidance.

What prior data suggests that virtual coaching is safe for cardiac rehabilitation?

Research has shown that virtual coaching safely supports heart health recovery. Often delivered through apps or online platforms, virtual coaching is easy for patients to use. It provides a convenient and safe way to maintain exercise routines after completing traditional heart rehab programs.

Studies have found that digital tools for heart rehab do not increase the risk of negative side effects. For example, one study noted that remote heart rehab serves as a safe alternative to in-person sessions. Another study found that smartphone-based programs can improve fitness without added risk.

Overall, virtual coaching is considered a safe and promising method to stay active after heart rehab, with few reports of negative effects. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about virtual coaching for cardiac rehabilitation because it offers a fresh approach to patient support and motivation. Unlike traditional in-person rehab sessions, this method leverages a mobile app to deliver personalized coaching, helping individuals set and achieve their health goals over the long term. The inclusion of social support through small groups encourages positive interaction and accountability among participants, fostering a supportive community atmosphere. By integrating these elements, virtual coaching aims to make cardiac rehabilitation more accessible and sustainable, potentially improving adherence and outcomes for patients with heart conditions.

What evidence suggests that virtual coaching is effective for maintaining physical activity after cardiac rehabilitation?

Research has shown that digital cardiac rehab, such as virtual coaching, helps people remain active after completing traditional rehab programs. In this trial, participants in the "Mobile app + Social" arm will receive virtual coaching, which includes goal evaluation, progress tracking, and social support to develop long-term healthy habits. A review of studies found that virtual rehab improved mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and stress. Other studies suggest that performing rehab exercises at home leads to better long-term exercise habits and higher satisfaction compared to standard care. Digital methods have also positively affected lifestyle choices and reduced heart disease risk factors. These findings support the idea that virtual coaching could effectively keep people active and healthy after cardiac rehab. ^{2 3 6 7 8}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Linda Park, PhD, NP

Principal Investigator

University of California, San Francisco

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for individuals who have completed cardiac rehabilitation and are looking to maintain their physical activity levels. Participants should be interested in receiving virtual coaching and social support to help sustain exercise habits.

Inclusion Criteria

I have a history of serious heart conditions that required intensive rehabilitation.

I am 60 years old or older.

Adherence to CR (≥ 50% sessions for ≥ 1 month)

Exclusion Criteria

Cognitive impairment (score 0-2 per Mini-Cog)

Lack of English or Spanish proficiency/literacy

I do not have any severe heart issues, uncontrolled high blood pressure, serious infections, or severe anemia.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Cardiac Rehabilitation

Participants undergo 36 sessions of cardiac rehabilitation over 12 weeks

12 weeks

Intervention

Participants receive virtual coaching and social support to maintain physical activity

6 months

Weekly virtual check-ins

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for adherence to physical activity and changes in CVD risk factors

12 months

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Virtual Coaching

Trial Overview The study tests if virtual coaching can help people stick with their exercise routines after finishing cardiac rehab. It compares a group getting this extra online support with one that doesn't, measuring steps, fitness, sedentary time, and self-reported exercise.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Mobile app + Social Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

The intervention group will also receive Virtual coaching. The coach will evaluate goals, progress, facilitators (use of the buddy system) and challenges with an emphasis on forming healthy PA habits that will be sustained long-term over the life course. Social support: For the social support component, we will provide ground rules for communication (e.g., positive posts, use of "likes", comments, etc.). Groups will be comprised of 4-6 participants with consecutive recruitment.

Group II: Mobile App Alone Active Control 1 Intervention

Mobile app control group. Exposure time will be similar between participants in both the intervention and control groups as both will have: (1) continuous access to the app for self-monitoring of exercise, blood pressure, and weight; (2) weekly "push" text messages with access to a library of educational content for learning that is self-paced on the app over 6 months; and (3) assigned 1 video per month on a variety of health topics related to older adults via the app that match exposure time (approximately 20-30 minutes) with the intervention group. The videos will be created or resourced from reputable organizations. The coach will send weekly short one-way messages on goals, self-management, etc. that the intervention group will also receive. The 1-way messages will be derived from a bank of 210 secondary prevention messages for CVD (PA, nutrition, stress management, heart disease facts, etc.).

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of California, San Francisco

Lead Sponsor

Trials

2,636

Recruited

19,080,000+

University of California, Davis

Collaborator

Trials

958

Recruited

4,816,000+

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Collaborator

Trials

3,987

Recruited

47,860,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) have significant information and support needs after hospital discharge, particularly regarding their condition, treatment procedures, medication, physical activity, and psychological distress, as identified through interviews and literature review involving 55 participants.

A remote coaching program was developed to address these needs, focusing on educating patients about CAD, medication adherence, safe physical activities, and understanding psychosocial impacts, thereby facilitating a smoother transition from hospital discharge to cardiac rehabilitation.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Design of a Remote Coaching Program to Bridge the Gap From Hospital Discharge to Cardiac Rehabilitation: Intervention Mapping Study. Keessen, P., van Duijvenbode, IC., Latour, CH., et al.[2022]

Cardiac Rehabilitation programs are effective in improving patient outcomes, but the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for their implementation.

Tele Cardiac Rehabilitation and remote patient monitoring offer a practical and effective alternative to traditional in-person programs, helping to overcome barriers posed by the pandemic.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Cardiac rehabilitation using telemedicine: the need for tele cardiac rehabilitation. Thamman, R., Janardhanan, R.[2021]

Cardiac telerehabilitation significantly improves long-term cardiopulmonary fitness in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), showing a mean difference of 1.61 in peak oxygen uptake compared to traditional center-based rehabilitation.

Patients participating in cardiac telerehabilitation also experience an improvement in quality of life, with a mean difference of 0.92, while maintaining a high completion rate of 80% and a low incidence of adverse events.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Longer-Term Effects of Cardiac Telerehabilitation on Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Zhong, W., Liu, R., Cheng, H., et al.[2023]

Complex e-coaching programs for cardiac rehabilitation were found to be more effective than usual care in improving physical capacity, clinical status, and psychosocial health, with strong evidence for long-term benefits based on a review of 19 randomized controlled trials.

In contrast, basic e-coaching programs showed limited or no evidence of effectiveness, highlighting the need for more detailed descriptions of e-coaching content to optimize cardiac rehabilitation care.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

E-coaching: New future for cardiac rehabilitation? A systematic review. Veen, EV., Bovendeert, JFM., Backx, FJG., et al.[2018]

Mobile technologies, including wearable activity monitors and virtual rehabilitation solutions, have the potential to enhance adherence to cardiac rehabilitation, which is crucial for improving quality of life and reducing hospitalizations.

The review of 113 studies showed mixed results regarding the efficacy of virtual cardiac rehabilitation compared to traditional methods, but highlighted the importance of user adherence and long-term engagement as key benefits of these technologies.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Virtual healthcare solutions for cardiac rehabilitation: a literature review. Lee, KCS., Breznen, B., Ukhova, A., et al.[2023]

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs significantly reduce future cardiac events and mortality, but only about 10% of eligible patients participate due to geographical barriers.

The development of virtual CR programs, utilizing technologies like the Internet and smartphones, shows promise in improving patient access and has demonstrated positive effects on clinical outcomes in small randomized trials.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Delivery of Cardiac Rehabilitation Using Communications Technologies: The "Virtual" Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. Lear, SA.[2019]

Internet-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been shown to improve compliance and physical activity outcomes in patients with heart disease, based on a review of nine studies involving 830 patients.

The studies indicated positive clinical and psychosocial outcomes, with no negative effects reported, suggesting that telemedicine could be a viable option for expanding access to CR, although none of the interventions have yet been implemented as a clinical service.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Patient focused Internet-based approaches to cardiovascular rehabilitation--a systematic review. Munro, J., Angus, N., Leslie, SJ.[2018]

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is crucial for improving health outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease, but participation rates are low in India, highlighting the need for innovative delivery methods.

Home-based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) offers a promising alternative to traditional center-based programs, utilizing remote coaching and technology to potentially increase access and participation among eligible patients, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Cardiac rehabilitation: Appraisal of current evidence and utility of technology aided home-based cardiac rehabilitation. Rathore, S., Kumar, B., Tehrani, S., et al.[2021]

A pilot study involving 15 patients showed that an Internet-based virtual cardiac rehabilitation program (vCRP) is safe and feasible, with no adverse events reported during the 12-week study.

Participants in the vCRP significantly improved key health metrics, including cholesterol levels and exercise capacity, achieving results comparable to traditional cardiac rehabilitation programs, indicating its potential as an effective alternative for patients unable to attend in-person sessions.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Utilization of the internet to deliver cardiac rehabilitation at a distance: a pilot study. Zutz, A., Ignaszewski, A., Bates, J., et al.[2022]

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11630969/

Effectiveness of virtual reality in cardiac rehabilitation ... A meta-analysis showed that VR-based cardiac rehabilitation (VR-CR) significantly improved anxiety, depression, and stress conditions compared ...

2. jacc.org jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacasi.2025.08.007

Long-Term Outcomes of Digital Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients with CAD often experience significant improvements during CR, which positively influences their long-term risk factors and lifestyle choices. It ...

3. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772374725004454

Long-Term Outcomes of Digital Cardiac Rehabilitation Several studies suggest that patients participating in home-based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) report higher satisfaction, better exercise adherence, and ...

4. ahajournals.org ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001150

Digital Technologies in Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Science ... This American Heart Association science advisory was assembled to guide the development and implementation of digital cardiac rehabilitation interventions.

5. thelancet.com thelancet.com/journals/landig/article/PIIS2589-7500(25)00012-3/fulltext

Effectiveness of home-based cardiac rehabilitation ... This study aims to assess the effects of mHealth HBCR interventions compared with usual care and CBCR in patients with heart disease.

6. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10964460/

Safety and long-term outcomes of remote cardiac ... The overall study quality was of low risk. Conclusions. RDCR can act as a safe alternative delivery mode of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The low ...

7. globalheartjournal.com globalheartjournal.com/articles/10.5334/gh.1253

Smartphone-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program ... Smartphones that delivered CR to CHD patients demonstrate superior outcomes regarding increasing functional capacity.

8. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10039430/

Virtual healthcare solutions for cardiac rehabilitation In studies with WAMs as the only virtual CR intervention used (k = 27), 10 (37.0%) reported significant effects on a primary outcome associated with cardiac ...