From Prehabilitation to Rehabilitation (Prehab2Rehab): Digitally Supported Short-Term Prehabilitation Prior to Cardiac Surgery

Starting soon · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) Surgery, Heart Valve Surgery, Surgical Closure of an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)

In brief

Prehab2Rehab is a prospective single-arm feasibility study evaluating the implementation of a multimodal, digitally supported prehabilitation program for adults awaiting elective cardiac surgery. During the routine preoperative waiting period, participants receive individualized education, psychosocial support, nutritional counselling, home-based physical activity guidance, and digital self-management support. The study aims to determine the feasibility, acceptability, usability, and safety of integrating this multidisciplinary prehabilitation pathway into routine clinical care. Exploratory outcomes include functional capacity, psychological well-being, nutritional status, digital engagement, and selected perioperative clinical outcomes to inform the design of future confirmatory trials.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07716761

Run by

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital Health and Prevention

People needed

40

Starts

2026-08-01

Expected to finish

2027-10-31

Last updated by the study team

2026-07-24

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age ≥ 18 years
• Classification as New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class I-II
• Low surgical risk profile, defined as a EuroSCORE between 0 and 3
• Scheduled for one of the following elective cardiac surgical procedures:
• Open-heart valve surgery
• Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
• Combined valve surgery and CABG
• Surgical closure of an atrial septal defect (ASD)
• Primary residence in Vienna to ensure the feasibility of in-person assessments and supervised sessions
• Sufficient German language proficiency to participate in assessments and educational components
• Adequate digital literacy to engage with the digital support tools used in the intervention
• Clinical and physical assessment confirming that participation in exercise training is medically safe

You may not qualify if…

• Emergency, urgent, or otherwise non-elective cardiac surgery
• Highly complex or specialized surgical procedures (e.g., aortic aneurysm repair, cardiac tumor resections)
• Interventional cardiac procedures (e.g., transcatheter aortic valve implantation [TAVI], MitraClip interventions)
• Neuromotor or physical impairments that might prevent adherence to the study protocol or informed participation
• Contraindications to spiroergometry according to current guidelines:
• Absolute contraindications:
• Acute coronary syndrome
• Symptomatic cardiac arrhythmias and/or hemodynamic instability
• Decompensated heart failure
• Acute pulmonary embolism
• Acute endocarditis, myocarditis, or pericarditis
• Febrile infections
• Acute deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities
• Relative contraindications:
• Left main coronary artery stenosis
• Electrolyte imbalances
• Arterial hypertension (>160 mmHg systolic)
• Tachyarrhythmias
• Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM)
• High-grade atrioventricular block
• Anemia
• Physical or psychological impairments

Where it is running

• Medical University of Vienna — Vienna, State of Vienna, Austria

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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