NCT07144722

Prehabilitation Program for Patients Awaiting Elective Heart Surgery at Increased Risk of Postoperative Complications: Feasibility and Potential Clinical Outcomes

Preliminary Evaluation of a Prehabilitation Program for Adults Awaiting Elective Heart Surgery and at Increased Risk of Postoperative Complications

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 45 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Montreal Heart Institute · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this study is to learn if an exercise-based prehabilitation program can help people who are waiting for heart surgery and are at higher risk of complications recover better. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can a home-based prehabilitation program prescribed by a physiotherapist be done safely and realistically before heart surgery? Participants will: Take part in a personalized exercise program for a 8 to 16 weeks before surgery Do breathing muscle training at home Meet with a physiotherapist once a week, either in person or by video call Be assessed before and after the program Researchers will compare the postoperative results with those of patients who received usual care only.

Conditions

• Cardiac Surgery
• Prehabilitation
• Postoperative Complications

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Exercise	What distinguishes this intervention from others is its hybrid delivery model, combining virtual more than in-person sessions to increase accessibility and adherence. Additionally, it incorporates specific inspiratory muscle training, which is often overlooked in standard prehabilitation programs, and emphasizes a personalized progression based on each participant's functional capacity and feedback. This tailored approach aims to optimize physical readiness before surgery while minimizing patient burden and travel requirements.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-09-15
• Primary completion: 2026-04-15
• Completion: 2026-06-15
• First posted: 2025-08-27
• Last updated: 2025-08-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada