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The ACTonHEART Study: Design of a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Cardiac Patients

The ACTonHEART Study: a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Cardiac Patients

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01909102
Acronym
ACTonHEART
Enrollment
92
Registered
2013-07-26
Start date
2015-08-31
Completion date
2022-04-30
Last updated
2024-02-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cardiovascular Diseases

Keywords

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cardiac rehabilitation

Brief summary

The study will determine whether a brief intervention program based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can be effective for the reduction of modifiable risk factors and improvement of psychological well-being in patients referred to cardiac rehabilitation

Detailed description

The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a mindfulness-based intervention which efficacy has been proven in the treatment of depression and anxiety, in stress reduction and in the modification of health- related behaviors in patients with several physical conditions. The application of an acceptance-based program in cardiac patients has revealed high treatment satisfaction and initial evidences of effectiveness in increasing heart-healthy behaviour. The purpose of the trial is to evaluate the efficacy of a brief group-administered program based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in improving patients' ability to address modifiable multiple cardiovascular risk factors and overall psychological well-being, compared with the usual care.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALusual care

Sponsors

Istituto Auxologico Italiano
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* having a current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease (IHD) * being affected by major modifiable cardiovascular risk factors that will be assessed through the INTERHEART Modifiable Risk Score. Only subjects with a full score \>9 will be included in the study. * between the ages of 18 and 70 years * fluency in spoken and written Italian language * expression of written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

* cognitive impairment * severe psychiatric disorders according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV TR criteria (APA, 2000).

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Psychological Well-BeingBaseline and 12 monthsChange from baseline Psychological Well-Being. It will be measured by the Psychological General Well-Being Inventory. The PGWBI is a self-administered questionnaire composed by six sub-scales: anxiety, depression, positive well-being, self-control, general health and vitality. Higher scores indicate better health.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)cholesterolBaseline and 12 monthsChange from baseline LDL cholesterol level
Blood pressurebaseline and 12 monthsChange from baseline resting blood pressure (the mean of 2 measures taken 2 minutes apart with a manual sphygmomanometer)
Body Mass Indexbaseline and 12 monthsChange from baseline Body Mass Index. It is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Smoking cessationAt 1-year follow-upSelf-report of smoking status
Exercise capabilityBaseline and 12 monthsChange from baseline exercise capability. The exercise capability will be considered as the maximal power (in Watts) reached during an incremental bicycle stress test.
Adherence to medicationBaseline and 12 monthsChange from baseline adherence to medication. The Modified Morisky Scale will be used. It is a eight-item self-reported measure of medication taking.
Health-related quality of lifeBaseline and 12 monthsChange from baseline Health-related quality of life. The Short Form-36 questionnaire for evaluation of Quality Of Life is widely used and gives valuable information on Quality Of Life related to health. The patients' Quality Of Life will be assessed through the following eight fractions: physical function, physical role, general health, social function, experience of pain, mental health, emotional role and vitality.
Dietary habitsBaseline and 12 monthsChange from baseline dietary habits. They will be assessed through the Mediterranean diet score, a large-scale diet score based on the inherent characteristics of Mediterranean dietary pattern. Questions focused on the frequency of usual consumption of 11 main components of the Mediterranean diet (nonrefined cereals, fruits, vegetables, potatoes, legumes, olive oil, fish, red meat, poultry, full fat dairy products and alcohol).
Physical activityBaseline anf 12 monthsChange from baseline physical activity. It will be measured by The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), a self-report questionnaire that assesses the number of days per week and the number of times per day an individual spends doing specific activities.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Psychological inflexibilityBaseline and 12 monthsChange from baseline psychological inflexibility. It will be measured through the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, a self-report 10-item scale.

Countries

Italy

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 9, 2026