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RecruitingNCT07590635eCardiacRehabUpdated Jun 23, 2026

eCardiacRehab - a Hybrid Patient-Centered eHealth Programme

An interventional study of eCardiacRehab in Comorbidities and Coexisting Conditions, Ethics and Continuity of Patient Care, sponsored by Haukeland University Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in Norway. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-23.

Sponsored by Haukeland University Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started May 2026; still recruiting 5 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
1,000
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The overall aim of eCardiacRehab trial is to meet rehabilitation needs of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) regardless of their access to traditional place-based rehabilitation by developing and evaluating the efficacy and cost effectiveness of an interdisciplinary and comprehensive home-based hybrid programme. eCardiacRehab address patient- and system level challenges to increase access to cardiac rehabilitation (CR). We give particular attention to older patients, women, and those with comorbidities or mental health challenges. The vision of the hybrid home-based eCardiacRehab programme is to make CR available to all.

eCardiacRehab is a prospective, multicentre randomized open-label blinded end point evaluation (PROBE) trial. The primary endpoint is a hierarchical composite endpoint using a win-ratio framework combining cardiovascular (CV) death, unplanned contacts to the Emergency Department (ED) for observation or admission (>24 hours) for CV disease, and quality of life. Inclusion criteria are adult Scandinavian speaking patients (≥ 18 years) who have a Norwegian national identification number, with CAD treated with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), are living at home, and have internet available to them and providing signed informed consent. Exclusion criteria are patients with severe aortic stenosis, severe arrhythmias, expected lifetime less than one year as determined by study personnel, otherwise clinically unstable, not fully revascularized, awaits PCI or coronary artery bypass graft operation (CABG) or inability to comply with the study protocol due to any physical disability, somatic disease, cognitive impairment or mental health challenges as determined by study personnel.

Read the detailed description

The primary objective is to test whether a hybrid CR programme (the eCardiacRehab) reduces the risk of CV death and CV related ED contacts, and improves quality of life compared to usual care in patients with CAD treated with PCI.

The secondary and exploratory objectives (planned for the main study) are:

  • To assess whether eCardiacRehab improves each of the components of the primary endpoint separately compared to usual care.
  • To assess clinical outcomes associated with eCardiacRehab in the following subgroups: age, sex (men vs. women), hypertension (yes vs. no), multimorbidity (yes vs. no), mental health challenges (yes vs. no).
  • To study whether eCardiacRehab reduces the total number of ED contacts compared to usual care.
  • To study whether eCardiacRehab reduces the risk of all-cause death compared to usual care.
  • To assess whether eCardiacRehab improves long-term medication adherence to cardiometabolic medications (e.g. antiplatelets, lipid lowering drugs, antihypertensive, and antidiabetics) in patients after PCI utilizing data from the Norwegian Prescribed Drug Registry, and by patients' self-report.
  • To assess whether participation in eCardiacRehab improves the total number of CV risk factors.
  • To assess whether participation in eCardiacRehab is non-inferior to conventional, in-person CR among the subset of usual care participants who attend standard place-based CR.

Other secondary objectives (for eCardiacRehab sub-studies) are:

  • To conduct a cost-utility study, from a societal and healthcare system perspective perspective; cost per QALY. Cost categories include i) the intervention; ii) inpatient/outpatient visits; iii) community-based healthcare; iv) medications; v) patient-borne costs and vi) production loss due to sick leave. Further, to estimate cost-effectiveness acceptability curves to estimate the probability that the intervention is cost-effective at different willingness to pay for a unit of the outcome measure.
  • To study whether eCardiacRehab affects the following patient-reported outcomes: quality of life, angina, anxiety, depression, sleep status, health literacy and eHealth literacy, frailty status, fatigue, continuity of care, and adherence to healthy lifestyle recommendations (physical activity, tobacco use, sleep, diet).
  • To study whether eCardiacRehab improves objectively measured cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2peak), intensity minutes (activity tracker) and self-reported physical activity and exercise.
  • To study whether eCardiacRehab improves body composition (visceral fat, muscle mass, body fat, BMI).
  • To study whether eCardiacRehab improves change in number of controlled risk factors.
  • To study whether eCardiacRehab improves low-density lipoproteins.

Exploratory objectives (for substudies):

  • To evaluate whether eCardiacRehab improves long-term medication adherence to cardiometabolic medications (e.g. antiplatelets, lipid lowering drugs, antihypertensive, and antidiabetics) in patients after PCI utilizing data from therapeutic drug monitoring (assessed by direct methods quantifying drug concentrations in blood).
  • To study differences in blood and urine biomarker concentrations between patients in the intervention and usual care group.
  • To study changes in blood pressure associated with digital cardiac rehabilitation.
  • To study cardiovascular mortality up to 10 years after index hospitalization.
  • To study cardiovascular ED contact up to 10 years after index hospitalization.
  • To study all-cause mortality up to 10 years after index hospitalization.
  • To study all-cause ED contact up to 10 years after index hospitalization.
  • To study the total number of ED contacts up to 10 years after index hospitalization.

Primary and secondary endpoints will be obtained by collection of self-reported data, clinical examination including blood and urine sample collection, and linkage to the following national registries: The Norwegian Registry of Invasive Cardiology, the Norwegian Population Registry, the Cause of Death Registry, the Norwegian Patient Registry, the Norwegian Myocardial Infarction Register, the Norwegian Prescription Database, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, Statistics Norway, the FD-Trygd database (social security micro data for research), the Control and payment of reimbursements to health service providers (KUHR) database and local hospital registries.

02

Conditions studied

  • Comorbidities and Coexisting Conditions
  • Ethics
  • Continuity of Patient Care
  • Older Adults (65 Years and Older)
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Adherence, Medication
  • Secondary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease
  • Health Literacy
  • eHealth Literacy
  • Mental Health
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Womens's Health
  • Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

Keywords

  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Coronary Artery Disease
  • Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
03

In context

Medication Adherence

937 studies on the registry are indexed under Medication Adherence; 159 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 1,000 is above the median of 120 across 768 interventional studies indexed under Medication Adherence.

Browse Medication Adherence studies →

Lead sponsor

Haukeland University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 284 studies on the registry; 59 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Adult Norwegian (or Scandinavian) speaking patients (≥ 18 years) who have a Norwegian national identification number
  • With coronary artery disease after percutaneous coronary intervention
  • Living at home
  • Have internet available
  • Provide signed

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with cognitive impairment that may interfere with the ability to comply with the study protocol
  • Severe aortic stenosis
  • Severe arrhythmias
  • Expected lifetime less than one year as determined by study personnel
  • Otherwise clinically unstable
  • Not fully revascularized
  • Awaits percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass graft surgery
  • Inability to comply with the study protocol due to any physical disability, somatic disease, or mental problems as determined by study personnel
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
1,000 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    Usual care

    No intervention

  • Active comparator
    eCardiacRehab

    Digital cardiac rehabilitation

    Other: eCardiacRehab

Interventions

  • OthereCardiacRehab

    12-week digital cardiac rehabilitation

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Composite clinical hierarchy of outcomes

    Composite clinical hierarchy of outcomes: Cardiovascular (CV) Death, CV Emergency Department (ED) contact and home, CV ED and observation, CV ED and admission (\>24 hours), and quality of life.

    Time frame: Death and hospitalization 1 year after study inclusion. Quality of life after 3 months.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Cardiovascular mortality

    Time to cardiovascular cause death from randomization.

    Time frame: 1, 3, 5 years

  2. Cardiovascular Emergency Department contact

    Time to Cardiovascular (CV) Emergency Department (ED) contact and home, CV ED and observation, CV ED and admission (\>24 hours)

    Time frame: 1, 3, 5 years

  3. All-cause mortality

    Time to all-cause death from randomization

    Time frame: 1, 3, 5 years

  4. All-cause Emergency Department contact

    Emergency Department (ED) contact and home, ED and observation, ED and admission (\>24 hours)

    Time frame: 1, 3, 5 years

  5. The Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale (MIDAS)

    Comprises 35 items specifically measuring seven different domains of health status and daily life challenges in individuals who have suffered a myocardial infarction: physical activity (12 items), insecurity (9 items), emotional reaction (4 items), dependency (3 items), diet (3 items), concerns over medication (2 items) and side effects (2 items). Respondents rate each item on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). The function of the MIDAS is to indicate the extent of ill health in each of the seven domains assessed, therefore each dimension is scored separately using a simple scoring methodology.

    Time frame: Pre-intervention, immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  6. The Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ- 7)

    SAQ-7 assesses patients' symptoms of chest pain, functioning, and quality of life through. The SAQ-7 is scored by transforming responses to seven items into three domains-Physical Limitation (PL), Angina Frequency (AF), and Quality of Life (QoL)-scaled from 0-100, where higher scores indicate better health. Items are coded 1-6 (worst to best), summed, and transformed. A total summary score is the average of these three domains

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up.

  7. RAND-12

    Comprises 12 items with 3 to 5 response levels. It generates two health indices: mental and physical health. A score of 50 represents the average US population, while scores above or below indicate better or worse health, respectively.

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  8. WHOQOL-BREF

    Comprises one global item on overall quality of life scored on a 1-5 Likert scale, ranging from "Very poor/dissatisfied" (1) to "Very good/satisfied" (5)

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  9. The my experience of taking medicines (MYMEDS) questionnaire

    Comprises 16 items and is a self-reporting tool for identifying modifiable adherence barriers among individuals prescribed post-myocardial infarction secondary prevention medicines in clinical practice. The questionnaire uses a 4-point Likert scale (strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree) for sections 2-5, which focus on understanding, concerns, practical barriers, and routine. Adherence Assessment (Section 6): A 5-point Likert scale is used to assess adherence to individual secondary prevention medicines over the past month (e.g., all of the time, nearly all of the time, most of the time, about half the time, less than half the time).

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  10. Therapeutic drug monitoring

    Serum levels of cardiac medications (quantified using liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry).

    Time frame: Maximum 1 year

  11. EQ-5D-5L

    EQ-5D-5L is an 5 item (plus a VAS scale) self-report-questionnaire assessing self-reported health. Each question has 5 levels: no problems, slight problems, moderate problems, severe problems and extreme problems. The patient is asked to indicate his/her health state by ticking the box next to the most appropriate statement in each of the five dimensions. This decision results in a 1-digit number that expresses the level selected for that dimension. The digits for the five dimensions can be combined into a 5-digit number that describes the patient's health state.

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  12. Smoking status

    Smoking status (smoker, previous smoker, never smoker)

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  13. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)

    Comprises 14 items and determine the levels of anxiety and depression that a patient is experiencing, and generates 2 sub-scales; HADS-D and HADS-A. HADS-Anxiety and/or HADS-depression score ≥/\< 8

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  14. Heart Continuity of Care Questionnaire (HCCQ-16)

    Comprises 16 items covering eight topic areas: heart condition explained, communication among providers, preparation for discharge, post-hospital review of treatment, receipt of conflicting information, information on medications and on physical and dietary needs. Respondents rate each item on a 6-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) or 6 (not applicable).

    Time frame: Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up.

  15. Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ)

    Comprises 20 items measuring four levels of health literacy: Appraisal of health information (5 items); social support for health (5 items); Ability to find good information (5 items); and Understanding health information (5 items). Each score provides insight into the strengths and limitations of the respondent, but the scores are most powerful when viewed together to show the 'health literacy profile' of the respondent.

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  16. The eHealth Literacy Scale

    The eHealth Literacy Scale (Eheals) is an 8-item measure of eHealth literacy developed to measure consumers' combined knowledge, comfort, and perceived skills at finding, evaluating, and applying electronic health information to health problems. Respondents indicate their agreement with statements on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree).

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  17. Sleep Sufficient Index (SSI)

    The Sleep Sufficiency Index (SSI) is calculated by dividing an individual's actual habitual sleep duration by their estimated needed sleep duration. It measures whether a person is getting enough sleep to feel rested, based on their personal requirements rather than a set number of hours. SSI \>0.8: Classified as having sufficient sleep, provided the total duration is also \> 6 hours. SSI \< 0.8: Classified as having insufficient sleep, even if total sleep time is relatively high.

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  18. Minimal Insomnia Symptom Scale (MISS)

    The Minimal Insomnia Symptom Scale (MISS) is scored by summing the responses to three items covering difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking too early. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale (0-4), resulting in a total score from 0 to 12. A score of ≥6 is generally used as the cut-off to identify clinical insomnia in adults.

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  19. Exercise

    VO2peak, Self-reported intensity adjusted minutes, activity monitoring

    Time frame: VO2peak: start and end of the 12-week programme. Self-reported intensity adjusted minutes and Activity monitoring: during the 12-week programme,

  20. Bioimpedance

    Visceral fat, muscle mass, body fat, BMI

    Time frame: Baseline and start and end of the 12-week programme

  21. Charlson Comorbidity score

    Charlson Comorbidity score ≥/\< 5

    Time frame: Baseline

  22. Frailty

    The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is scored on a 1-9 scale based on clinical judgment of a patient's baseline functional status. It assesses mobility, function, cognitive ability, and comorbidities, ranging from 1 (Very Fit) to 9 (Terminally Ill)

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediately after the intervention

  23. Digital Health Readiness

    The Digital Health Readiness Questionnaire (DHRQ) is scored by summing responses from four main domains (15-75 range) using a 5-point Likert scale (1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly Agree). A higher score indicates greater digital readiness.

    Time frame: Baseline, start and end of the 12-week programme

  24. Fatigue

    A visual analog scale ranging from 0 (fatigue is not a problem) to 10 (fatigue is a major problem) is used to measure change in fatigue

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  25. Diet and nutrition

    The diet section of the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT3) is scored based on self-reported questionnaires-specifically, a short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) designed to measure adherence to Norwegian dietary recommendations. The scoring typically translates frequency of intake into a diet quality index or a total adherence score, often based on a 0-5 or higher scale, where higher scores represent a healthier diet

    Time frame: Baseline, Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

  26. Frailty

    The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) index will be used to measure frailty status. The SOF index includes three items: 1) weight loss \> 5% in the last year, 2) inability to rise from a chair five times without using arms, and 3) reduced energy level. The questions have dichotomous response alternatives (yes/no). Patients who meet none of these criteria will be considered robust, one of the criteria are pre-frail, and two or three of these criteria are considered frail.

    Time frame: Baseline, Immediately after the intervention

  27. HeartQol

    14-item, heart-specific tool (for ischemic heart disease) scored on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 ("A lot") to 3 ("Not at all"). It measures physical (10 items) and emotional (4 items) quality of life, where higher mean scores (0 to 3) indicate better health-related quality of life

    Time frame: Immediately after the intervention

  28. Beliefs About Medicines Questionnaire

    The Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) assesses beliefs and perceptions about medicines and treatment. The BMQ comprises two sections: the BMQ-Specific which assesses representations of medication prescribed for personal use and the BMQ-General which assesses beliefs about medicines in general. The two sections of the BMQ can be used in combination or separately. Respondents rate 11 items on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).

    Time frame: Pre-intervention, Immediately after the intervention, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up, 36-month follow-up.

Other outcomes

  1. Biomarkers

    Blood: Cardiac and inflammation markers. Urine: amino acid metabolites, organic acids and intermediates of fatty acid oxidation.

    Time frame: Baseline and end of the 12-week programme

  2. Blood pressure

    Time frame: Baseline, start and end of the 12-week programme

  3. Total number of ED contacts

    Time frame: Up to 10 years

  4. Cognition

    The 4AT is a 0-12 point delirium screening tool. Score 4 or more suggests delirium; 1-3 suggests cognitive impairment; 0 suggests no delirium/severe impairment

    Time frame: Baseline

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Pettersen TR, Schjott J, Allore H, Bendz B, Borregaard B, Fridlund B, Hadjistavropoulos HD, Larsen AI, Nordrehaug JE, Rasmussen TB, Rotevatn S, Valaker I, Wentzel-Larsen T, Norekval TM; CONCARD Investigators. Discharge Information About Adverse Drug Reactions Indicates Lower Self-Reported Adverse Drug Reactions and Fewer Concerns in Patients After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. Heart Lung Circ. 2024 Mar;33(3):350-361. doi: 10.1016/j.hlc.2023.12.005. Epub 2024 Jan 18. PubMed 38238118 ↗
  • Norekval TM, Bale M, Bedane HK, Hole T, Ingul CB, Munkhaugen J. Cardiac rehabilitation participation within 6 months of discharge in 37 136 myocardial infarction survivors: a nationwide registry study. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2024 Nov 18;31(16):1977-1980. doi: 10.1093/eurjpc/zwad350. No abstract available. PubMed 37943676 ↗

Related links

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 23, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07590635
Collaborators
The Research Council of Norway, Helse Vest, Helse Fonna, Helse Møre og Romsdal HF, Helse Vest IKT, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Youwell, University of Bergen, Østfold University College, Norsk råd for digital etikk, Helse Førde HF, University of Amsterdam, Center for Research on Cardiac Disease in Women, Nasjonal kompetansetjeneste Trening som medisin, RELIS Vest, Norwegian Centre for E-health Research, Bergen Municipality, Sunnfjord Municipality, Sogndal Municipality, Masfjorden Municipality, The Norwegian Heart and Lung Patients Association (LHL), E-helse Vestland, Yale University, University of Sydney, University of Cambridge, University of Regina, University of Copenhagen, Linkoeping University, Voss Sykehus
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 15, 2026
Start date
May 21, 2026
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2037 (estimated)
Last update
Jun 23, 2026

Study contacts

Trond R Pettersen, PhD
Contact
trond.roed.pettersen@helse-bergen.no
+4748124938
Tone M Norekvål, PhD
principal investigator · Haukeland University Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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