Heart-ROCQ study protocol: cardiac rehabilitation for preventing complications and improving quality of life

Keywords: cardiac rehabilitation; health status; postoperative complications

Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are often at risk of postoperative complications. Cardiac rehabilitation programmes aim to improve patients’ health status before and/or after surgery, but research about their effectiveness is lacking, particularly regarding combined pre- and postoperative programmes.

This summary outlines the study protocol for a Dutch trial comparing the effectiveness of a combined pre- and postoperative cardiac rehabilitation programme (Heart-ROCQ) with that of a postoperative cardiac rehabilitation programme only, which is standard care in the Netherlands.

The trial will randomise 350 patients accepted for cardiac surgery to the Heart-ROCQ programme or the standard care programme. Primary and secondary endpoints (such as functional status, postoperative surgical complications and lifestyle risk factors) will be measured from baseline up to 12 months after surgery.

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