Outpatient Rehabilitation Programmes for Myocardial Ischemia, Heart Failure, and COPD: Satisfaction, Participation, Test Outcomes, and Factors Associated With Positive Changes in Test Results as Well as Level of Participation

May 15, 2026 updated by: Stig Molsted, Nordsjaellands Hospital

Aim The aim of this project is to investigate the level of participation, satisfaction, changes in tests, and factors associated with these results in existing rehabilitation programmes at North Zealand Hospital and in the surrounding municipalities among patients with heart diseases and the lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The project is conducted in clinical practice in a non-selected population.

Participants Individuals with heart disease and COPD who commence training at North Zealand Hospital. Up to 840 participants may be included over a two-year period. Participants will be recruited at the start of training at North Zealand Hospital.

Inclusion criteria:

Patients from North Zealand Hospital (Hillerød and Frederikssund) referred with a rehabilitation plan for group-based rehabilitation for heart disease or COPD at North Zealand Hospital Patient consent to participate in the project. There are no exclusion criteria for the project.

Intervention Participants will be invited to participate in the project when enrolling in the already existing group-based training programme lasting 6-10 weeks as part of rehabilitation for heart disease and COPD.

Data

Participation:

Number of patients commencing the training period relative to the number of patients referred from the cardiology department

Attendance:

Number of completed training sessions relative to the total number of possible training sessions during the periods at the hospital and in the municipalities

Dropout:

Dropout during the hospital-based and municipality-based periods and reasons for dropout The data listed below will, as far as possible, be collected before and after the training period. Physical activity (the final variable) will additionally be measured three months after completion of the municipal programme.

30-second sit-to-stand test* Six-minute walk test* Quality of life measured using the CAT questionnaire for COPD and EQ-5D for the two groups of patients with heart disease Musculoskeletal pain measured using a questionnaire with the Numeric Rating Scale for five body regions Physical activity measured using a modified version of the IPAQ questionnaire from the Danish Health and Morbidity Surveys

*These tests are standard and implemented in the existing rehabilitation programmes.

Other Data

Additional data will include:

From questionnaire: educational level and BMI (height and weight) From patient records: age, sex, treatment for heart disease, and extent of other chronic diseases Data from patient records are already collected as part of routine clinical practice independently of this project.

Ethics Participants will be invited to the study with written and oral information. Participation will take place after informed consent. The study will be conducted in accordance with the regulations of the Scientific Ethical Committee, to which it will be submitted as soon as possible, and it will be reported in the Capital Region of Denmark's legal system via PRIVACY. The study will be registered in the project database www.clinicaltrials.gov. Data will be stored in the REDCap database system.

Dissemination of Results Results will be presented at local and regional meetings and symposia and published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals indexed in PubMed.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Following standard referral after diagnosis of myocardial ischemia, heart failure, or COPD, patients are offered structured outpatient rehabilitation programmes in which supervised physical exercise is a key component. Depending on diagnosis and risk stratification, rehabilitation is delivered at North Zealand Hospital and/or in collaborating municipalities.

This prospective intervention study without a control group is conducted in routine clinical practice. Participants are invited when they enroll in existing group-based rehabilitation programmes. The intervention itself is not experimental and follows standardized, implemented rehabilitation protocols.

Patients with myocardial ischemia and heart failure participate in six weeks of supervised group-based exercise at the hospital, twice weekly, followed by six weeks of rehabilitation in municipal settings. Patients with COPD participate in group-based exercise for up to 12 weeks delivered at the hospital or via telerehabilitation. Exercise sessions include warm-up, aerobic interval training, light resistance training for major muscle groups, and stretching, with intensity guided by the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale.

The primary focus of the study is participation (enrollment, attendance, and dropout) and satisfaction with rehabilitation. Secondary outcomes include changes in physical function, quality of life, musculoskeletal pain, and physical activity. Measurements are obtained before and after the hospital-based rehabilitation period, after any municipal rehabilitation period, and for physical activity additionally at three months after completion.

Sociodemographic and clinical variables obtained from questionnaires and patient records are used to examine factors associated with participation, dropout, and changes in outcomes. The study aims to generate real-world evidence to support optimization of rehabilitation delivery and continuity across healthcare sectors.

Study Type Observational Patient Registry / Prospective Cohort

Conditions

Myocardial Ischemia Heart Failure Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Interventions Intervention Type: Other Intervention Name: Standard outpatient exercise-based rehabilitation Description: Standardized, guideline-based group exercise programmes delivered as part of routine cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation (hospital-based, municipal-based, and telerehabilitation).

Outcome Measures Participation and adherence Enrollment rate, attendance rate, and dropout during hospital- and municipality-based rehabilitation Time frame: Up to 12 weeks Satisfaction with rehabilitation (questionnaire) Time frame: End of hospital-based rehabilitation and follow-up 30-second sit-to-stand test Six-minute walk test Time frame: Baseline, post-rehabilitation, and follow-up Quality of life EQ-5D (heart disease) COPD Assessment Test (CAT) Time frame: Baseline, post-rehabilitation, follow-up Musculoskeletal pain Numeric Rating Scale (five body regions) Time frame: Baseline, post-rehabilitation, follow-up Physical activity level Modified IPAQ questionnaire Time frame: Baseline, post-rehabilitation, and three months after completion

Eligibility Criteria Inclusion Criteria Adults referred from North Zealand Hospital (Hillerød or Frederikssund) with a rehabilitation plan for group-based rehabilitation for myocardial ischemia, heart failure, or COPD Enrollment in standard outpatient rehabilitation Provided informed consent Exclusion Criteria None

Enrollment Estimated enrollment: 840 participants

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

840

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with heart disease or the lung disease COPD refered to out-patient exercise training during rehabilitation

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients from North Zealand Hospital (Hillerød and Frederikssund) referred with a rehabilitation plan for group-based rehabilitation for myocardial ischemia, heart failure, or COPD at North Zealand Hospital
  • Patient consent to participate in the project

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Rehabilitation group
Patients with heart disease or COPD that are referred to exercise training in a rehabilitation program

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Six minutes walk test
Time Frame: from baseline to six weeks and 12 weeks
Distance walked in six minutes
from baseline to six weeks and 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
30 sec chair stand test
Time Frame: Baseline to six weeks and 12 weeks
Number of repetitions of rises from a chair in 30 sec
Baseline to six weeks and 12 weeks
EuroQol 5-Dimension
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Quality of life questionaire with index scores from 0-1 and visual analog scale from 0-100, where higher score indicates better health in both
Baseline to 12 weeks
Muscoloskeletal pain
Time Frame: Baseline to six weeks and 12 weeks
Muscoloskeletal pain in five body sites Numeric Rating Scale 0-10
Baseline to six weeks and 12 weeks
Physical activity
Time Frame: From baseline to 24 weeks
Questionaire fra the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey
From baseline to 24 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Dropout of the training intervention
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Participations' dropout during the training intervention period
Baseline to 12 weeks
Adherence to the training intervention registration
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Training intervention adherence registered as participation relative to scheduled training sessions in percentage
Baseline to 12 weeks
Satisfaction with treatment questionaire
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Satisfaction with intervention assessed using a local questionaire with five questions that are replyed from 1-5 where higher score is more agree
Baseline to 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

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

  • References 1 Dibben GO, Faulkner J, Oldridge N, et al.: Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis. European Heart Journal 2023;44:452.doc:695b90bef87f303feb9c923b1(6) 2 Molloy CD, Long L, Mordi IR, et al.: Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for adults with heart failure - 2023 Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis. European J of Heart Fail 2023;25:2263.doc:695b92b8f87f303feb9c92441(12) 3 Shields GE, Wells A, Doherty P, et al.: Cost-effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation: a systemat-ic review. Heart 2018;104:1403.doc:695ba4b47d51ae13acc1ab991(17) 4 Tian X, Liu F, Li F, et al.: A Network Meta-Analysis of Aerobic, Resistance, Endurance, and High-Intensity Interval Training to Prioritize Exercise for Stable COPD. COPD 2024;Volume19:2035.doc:695b96e2bcf8ef34cffa42a91 5 Liu S, Zhao Q, Li W, et al.: The Cost-Effectiveness of Pulmonary Rehabilitation for COPD in Different Settings: A Systematic Review. Appl Health Econ Health Policy 2020;19:313.doc:695ba5d16976963cbb24f1161(3) 6 DHRD Årsrapport 2024:doc:695ba9757d51ae13acc1aec91 7 Sommer CG, Jorgensen LB, Blume B, et al. Dropout during a 12-week transitional exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programme: a mixed-methods prospective cohort study. Eur J Car-diovasc Nurs 2022,21(6):578-86. 8 Ibsen C, Katholm KK, Jakobsen A, et al. Reducing dropout rates in cardiac rehabilitation among cardiac patients in a vulnerable situation: systematic development and feasibility testing of the Heart Priority Programme. BMC Health Serv Res 2024,24(1):1579-x. 9 Mikkelsen T, Korsgaard Thomsen K, Tchijevitch O. Non-attendance and drop-out in cardiac rehabilitation among patients with ischaemic heart disease. Dan Med J 2014,61(10):A4919. 10 Damlund ARS, Jorgensen LB, Blume B, et al. Reasons for dropout in the transition from hospital to municipality during exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation in a Danish cross-sectorial setting: a qualitative study. BMJ Open 2022,12(11):e064660-064660. 11 St

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 (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 15, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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