An interventional study of Structured cardiovascular rehabilitation in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, sponsored by Medical University Innsbruck. Recruiting at 1 site in Austria. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-15.
Sponsored by Medical University Innsbruck · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Evidence about the benefit of cardiovascular rehabilitation (CR) after open or endovascular repair of an infrarenal aortic aneurysm is lacking. The positive effect of CR on the cardiovascular fitness, quality of life and mortality is well established in other cardiovascular fields like cardiac surgery.
The aim of this study is to determine whether participation in a structured CR, compared with standard postoperative care (SC), results in greater improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness in patients following abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.
The study will also evaluate whether CR, compared with SC, improves health-related quality of life, reduces cardiovascular risk-factors and adverse cardiovascular events and preserves of cognitive function over the follow-up period. Furthermore, the number of complications and reoperations will be evaluated.
467 studies on the registry are indexed under Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal; 99 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 66 across 228 interventional studies indexed under Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal.
Browse Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal studies →Medical University Innsbruck is the lead sponsor of 186 studies on the registry; 47 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
Exclusion Criteria:
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.
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.
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe out, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Life expectancy
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe out, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
This group receives a three-week inpatient cardiovascular rehabilitation program three months after the procedure.
Other: Structured cardiovascular rehabilitation
Participants assigned to standard care will be advised to optimize their cardiovascular risk factors and to engage in regular moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise; however, no supervised cardiovascular rehabilitation or structured exercise program will be prescribed.
Participants after open or endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair will receive a three-week inpatient structured cardiovascular rehabilitation program three months after the procedure.
Also known as: cardiovascular rehabilitation
Change of VO2max
Maximal oxygen uptake
Time frame: Before the procedure and 1 year after aortic repair
6-minute walking distance (6MWD)
Walking distance after 6 minutes
Time frame: Before the procedure and 1 year after aortic repair
Change of the results of the The Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire
Quality of life questionnaire evaluating 36 items on a scale of 0-100. A score of 0 is equivalent to maximum disability and a score of 100 is equivalent to no disability
Time frame: Before surgery and 1 year after aortic repair
Surgery related complications and reoperations
Number of surgically related complications and reoperations
Time frame: After 30 days and after 1 year after aortic repair.
Change of blood pressure
Time frame: Blood pressure and serum lipid profile preoperative and 1 year after aortic repair.
Mini-mental state examination
Change of the mini-mental-score (0-30 points). Any score of 24 or more indicates a normal cognition. Below this, scores can indicate severe (≤9 points), moderate (10-18 points) or mild (19-23 points) cognitive impairment.
Time frame: Preoperative and 1 year after aortic repair.
Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE)
Number of composite adverse cardiovascular events: non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary and peripheral arterial disease revascularization, non-traumatic amputation
Time frame: 30 days and 1 year after aortic repair.
Serum lipid profile
Time frame: Blood pressure and serum lipid profile preoperative and 1 year after aortic repair.
Plan to share: Yes — Study relevant pseudonymized IPD will be shared by the study team upon reasonable request.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan
Started Oct 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jan 2029, 27 months after the start.
Of 51 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal, half reached primary completion within 43 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 21 and three quarters within 61. This study's planned 27 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 94 studies reached it within 43 months; a quarter within 23 and three quarters within 65.
Start moved once since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026: Jul 2026 → Oct 2026, on Oct 15, 2026.
Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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