The Efficacy and Economics of Exercise Maintenance Post-Cardiac Rehabilitation (ECOPCR)

June 25, 2026 updated by: Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation

Ecologically Optimizing Exercise Maintenance in Men and Women Post-Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Efficacy With Economics

The purpose of this study is to develop a new intervention to improve the transition of patients from structured, supervised exercise to self-managed home- or approved community-based exercise programs in an effort to increase maintenance of exercise behaviour post cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The goal of the study is that those receiving the intervention will engage in at least 30 minutes of physical activity at a moderate or vigorous intensity 5 or more days per week, 26, 52 and 78 weeks after CR compared to those in the usual care group. The new intervention will be delivered by trained exercise facilitators (physiotherapists or exercise specialists) and will make use of: small group counseling teleconferences (5 sessions); personal telephone contacts (3 sessions), and community program demonstrations that would facilitate linkages between patients and approved community programs known as Heart Wise Exercise programs available in Ottawa and Toronto. The trial will be conducted at the Minto Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and Prevention Centre at the University Health Network (Peter Munk Cardiac Centre [PMCC] and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute [TRI]) sites. The study has a target enrollment of 604 participants.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

449

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Y4W7
        • University of Ottawa Heart Institute
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G2C4
        • York University and University Health Network

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient is currently participating in an on-site CR program of ≥ 8-week duration (to ensure that outcomes are not confounded by exposure to home-based or telephone-based case managed programs)
  • Patient has graduated from CR (to ensure that the study is evaluating an intervention to help sustain and improve maintenance of exercise behaviour
  • Patient has a documented diagnosis of CAD (to ensure homogeneity of the patient population)
  • Patient is 18 years of age or older
  • Patient is able and willing to provide informed consent
  • Able to walk unaided at 2 mph

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patient has New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure (because this might interfere with the ability to achieve recommended exercise levels and to ensure homogeneity of the patient population)
  • Patient is pregnant, lactating or planning to become pregnant during the study period (because this might interfere with the ability to achieve recommended exercise levels)
  • Patient is unable to read and understand English or French
  • Planning to leave the province or region in the next 12 months
  • Member of the participant's household is already participating in the study
  • The participant is unable, in the opinion of the qualified investigator, to participate in unsupervised exercise.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Exercise Facilitator Intervention
The intervention employs small group counseling teleconferences (5),personal telephone contacts (3) and community Heart Wise Exercise program demonstrations.
Behavioral: Exercise Facilitator Intervention
The 50 week intervention includes 5 small group counseling teleconferences, 3 personal telephone calls and Heart Wise Exercise program demonstrations. During the teleconferences and personal telephone calls, the facilitator discusses the importance of exercise. Participants review their activity diaries, identify barriers to exercise maintenance experienced to date and brainstorm solutions as a group. In addition, the facilitator conducts community program demonstrations at Heart Wise Exercise program locations in Ottawa and Toronto for interested participants.
No Intervention: Usual Care
Usual care for cardiac rehab graduates provided by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Minto Prevention & Rehabilitation Centre and the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and Prevention Centre at the University Health Network.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
9-day Accelerometer-measured Physical Activity of Moderate and Vigorous Intensity
Time Frame: Baseline to 52 weeks
Physical activity will be measured directly by having participants wear the Actigraph GT3X accelerometer (Actigraph, Pensacola, Florida) over the right hip for a 9-day recording period, excluding periods when they are sleeping, swimming, or bathing. The activity monitor provides measurements including activity counts, energy expenditure, and step counts, in addition to activity intensity levels. Participants will be considered to be maintaining exercise at guideline recommended levels if they undertake ≥ 30 minutes of moderate and/or vigorous intensity physical activity on ≥ five days. The results report the average minutes of exercise recorded across the full 9 days wearing the accelerometer.
Baseline to 52 weeks
9-day Accelerometer-measured Physical Activity of Moderate and Vigorous Intensity (>/= 10min Sessions)
Time Frame: Baseline to 52 weeks

Physical activity will be measured directly by having participants wear the Actigraph GT3X accelerometer (Actigraph, Pensacola, Florida) over the right hip for a 9-day recording period, excluding periods when they are sleeping, swimming, or bathing. The activity monitor provides measurements including activity counts, energy expenditure, and step counts, in addition to activity intensity levels. Participants will be considered to be maintaining exercise at guideline recommended levels if they undertake ≥ 30 minutes of moderate and/or vigorous intensity physical activity on ≥ five days.

Outcome measure 2 reports the average number of minutes recorded over the full 9 days of wearing the accelerometer, but only when the exercise events last for at least 10 minutes. This differs from Primary Outcome 1 because Primary Outcome 1 is an average of all bouts of exercise regardless of sustained time.
Baseline to 52 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Symptom Limited Graded Exercise Test With Electrocardiographic Monitoring Using a Ramp Protocol on a Treadmill
Time Frame: Baseline and 52 weeks
A random sub-sample of participants will complete a symptom limited graded exercise test with electrocardiographic monitoring using a ramp protocol on a treadmill at baseline and at 52 weeks. Exercise tolerance will also be assessed using the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI), a self-administered questionnaire that measures a patient's functional capacity and is used as an estimate of an individual's peak oxygen uptake
Baseline and 52 weeks
Quality of Life Measured by the the EuroQoL 5D Visual Analogue Scale
Time Frame: Baseline to 52 weeks
The EQ-5D is the current gold standard measure of generic quality of life, has been used in numerous studies and has been validated in many languages. The EQ-5D consists of 2 pages - the EQ-5D descriptive system and the EQ visual analogue scale. The EQ-5D descriptive system comprises the following 5 dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. The Visual analogue scale ranges from 0-100 with 0 rated as the worst health, and 100 being the best health.
Baseline to 52 weeks
Cardiovascular Risk Factors Measured by Waist Circumference
Time Frame: 52 weeks
Waist circumference is measured using a non-stretchable standard tape measure.
52 weeks
Cardiovascular Risk Factors Measured by Systolic Blood Pressure.
Time Frame: 52 weeks
Systolic blood pressure is measured in a seated position after a five-minute rest period using an automated, non-invasive blood pressure monitor (BPTru) that automatically performs six measurements. The results represent the average measurements of the six measurements taken.
52 weeks
Cardiovascular Risk Factors Measured by Body Mass Index
Time Frame: 52 weeks
Height and weight is measured for the determination of body mass index (BMI).
52 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation

Collaborators

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Andrew Pipe, MD, Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation
  • Principal Investigator: Robert Reid, MBA, PhD, Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation
  • Principal Investigator: Sherry Grace, PhD, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre
  • Study Chair: Caroline Chessex, MD, MSc, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre
  • Study Chair: Murray Krahn, MD, MSc, University of Toronto, Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment Collaborative
  • Study Chair: Doug Manuel, MD, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences
  • Study Chair: Kori Kingsbury, MSN, MPA, Cardiac Care Network of Ontario
  • Study Chair: Jennifer Harris, BSc, PT, Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation
  • Study Chair: Kerri-Anne Mullen, MSc, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences
  • Study Chair: Amy Mark, PhD, Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation
  • Study Chair: Chris Blanchard, PhD, Dalhousie University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 1, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 2, 2012

First Posted (Estimated)

August 7, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 25, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 201200579-01

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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