Transition to Cardiac Rehabilitation (T2CR) to Address Barriers of Multimorbidity and Frailty (NCT06244199)
🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)
Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a secondary prevention program for patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is especially valuable as CVD increasingly occurs in combination with comorbidity, frailty, and complexities of care that predispose patients to functional decline, disability, and high costs. Still, few Veterans participate in CR, in part because of the difficult logistics to attend. Promising Practice home-based CR (HBCR) was developed to increase CR participation, but many Veterans remain too limited by comorbidity and frailty for participation. A Transition to CR (T2CR) intervention is a face-to-face program that fosters vital skills, education, insights, motivation, and patient-provider relationships conducive to successful HBCR thereafter. This study compares Veterans eligible for CR who are randomized to T2CR intervention versus usual care. Differences in functional capacity, HBCR participation, and healthy days at home are compared over one year. Patients' experiences and providers' perspectives of barriers and facilitators to T2CR are also compared.
Who can join: To join this study, participants generally need to meet the listed inclusion criteria (7 items) and avoid the listed exclusions (6 items).
Location: VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus, Jamaica Plain, MA — Boston, Massachusetts
📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener
Instant ChecklistCheck every box below. If you can check all of them, you may meet the study's basic screening requirements (final eligibility is confirmed by the site team).
Usually NOT eligible if any of the following apply:
- Exclusion Criteria:
- Veterans with unstable medical condition as indicated by history, physical exam, and/or laboratory findings end-stage disease likely to be fatal within 12 months
- severe cognitive impairment (MiniCog score 0-2)
- history of addictive or behavioral issues that confound safe administration of HBCR
- hearing loss that interferes with participation in the trial
- living in a long-term care living situation prior to the time of hospitalization, no plans to return to independent living after the hospitalization
🔍 Extracted verbatim from the official NIH eligibility criteria. Always confirm with the study coordinator.
📍 All Participating Trial Locations (2 Sites)
- VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus, Jamaica Plain, MA — Boston, Massachusetts
- VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System University Drive Division, Pittsburgh, PA — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights
- 100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
- Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
- Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.