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RECOVER WITH INOCA: A Study of a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program in Patients With Ischemia With Nonobstructive Coronary Artery Disease (INOCA)

RECOVER WITH INOCA: A Randomized, Prospective Study of a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program in Patients With Ischemia With Nonobstructive Coronary Artery Disease (INOCA)

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06887257
Enrollment
24
Registered
2025-03-20
Start date
2024-09-01
Completion date
2024-12-15
Last updated
2025-03-24

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

Conditions

INOCA (Ischemia With Non Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease)

Keywords

INOCA, Cardiac rehabilitation, Functional capacity

Brief summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) improves functional capacity in adults with INOCA (ischemia with non obstructive coronary arteries). The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does CRP improves maximal functional capacity (measured by VO2peak) in INOCA patients? * Does CRP improve as well quality of life, adherence to Mediterranean diet, emotional state, functional independence angina episodes and sleep quality? Researchers will compare CRP (treatment group) to standard recommendations (control group) to see if CRP works better for INOCA patients Participants will: Take part of CRP or standard recommendations for 3 months Visit the clinic in the beginning and in the end of the study for checkups and tests

Detailed description

A prospective, single-centre, randomized study with patients diagnosed with INOCA to assess their participation in a 3-month telehealth-based holistic cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP). Exclusion criteria were based on contraindications for participating in the telehealth CRP: alarm signs in the stress test (ventricular arrhythmias, hypotensive response, ST segment changes, or symptoms of ischemia), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \<40%, or presence of pacemakers/defibrillators. Additionally, patients without a mobile device/tablet/computer with internet access to connect to exercise and educational sessions were excluded. Finally, participants should be stable in terms of angina episodes, defined as the absence of hospitalizations or decompensations in the number of angina episodes, as well as no changes in antianginal medications for 3 months prior to inclusion. The primary endpoint is the improvement in functional capacity, objectively measured by the change in peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) obtained from cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) after 3 months of CRP (treatment group), compared to standard recommendations (control group). Secondary endpoints are CRP impact on quality of life, adherence to Mediterranean diet, emotional state, functional independence, angina episodes and sleep quality. The investigators selected pure VSA and pure MCA endotypes for the inclusion, to avoid confusion factors and to see if there were different results between both endotypes. A sample of 24 patients was selected to detect a 4.5 ml/kg/min difference in VO2peak. The study scheme is as follows: 1. Recruitment: INOCA patients (confirmed diagnosis with microcirculation and provocation testing) are referred from ischemic heart disease consultations. 2. Initial Assessment Visit: * Part 1: Cardiologist and hemodynamic nurse explain the project, and if the patient agrees to participate, randomization (CRP yes or no) occur, and informed consent is signed. Blood samples are taken for initial assessment (basic profile, haemostasis, lipid profile, and HbA1c). Additionally, scales for quality of life (EuroQol), anxiety and depression (HADS), Mediterranean diet (PREDIMED), weekly exercise volume (IPAQ), functional (Barthel), and angina (SAQ-7) assessments are completed. * Part 2: Assessment in the cardiac rehabilitation clinic and initial CPET (cardiopulmonary stress test) testing for all patients. If the patient belongs to the CRP group, an individualized exercise prescription is made for the physiotherapist. If not, general exercise recommendations are provided. In both cases, a final CPET visit is scheduled at 3 months. 3. Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (3-month duration, for the intervention group): 2 individualized exercise sessions per week (via Teams platform) with the physiotherapist, 1 educational session per week via Teams with nursing, and 1 educational session per week via Teams with psychology. 4. Final Visit in Cardiac Rehabilitation: Scales wee reassessed, CPET is conducted, and a final medical assessment is performed. A final blood test and nursing assessment is also conducted, including an ad hoc patient experience survey regarding the program. A final medical report with their evolution and recommendations for follow up is given to all patients.

Interventions

Standard recommendations about exercise, educational and psychologicla advice

OTHERTelematic cardiac rehabilitation program, that includes exercise, educational and psychological sessions during 3 months

2 group and telematic exercise sessions/week, 1 educational session/week and 1 psychological session/week, during 3 months. There are no drugs or devices involved in the intervention.

Sponsors

Spanish Society of Cardiology
CollaboratorOTHER
Hospital Clinic of Barcelona
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* All men or women \>18 years old with cath lab diagnosis of INOCA of 2 possible endotypes: vasoespasm or microvascular disease. * All participants must have a mobile device/tablet/computer with internet access to connect to exercise and educational sessions * Participants should be stable in terms of angina episodes, defined as the absence of hospitalizations or decompensations in the number of angina episodes, as well as no changes in antianginal medications for 3 months prior to inclusion.

Exclusion criteria

* Alarm signs in the stress test (ventricular arrhythmias, hypotensive response, ST segment changes, or symptoms of ischemia) * Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \<40%, or presence of pacemakers/defibrillators

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Maximal functional capacity3 monthsChange in VO2peak measured with CPET (cardiopulmonary stress test)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
PREDIMED3 months* Full name: PREDIMED Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener * Purpose: Assesses adherence to the Mediterranean diet, which is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk and improved health outcomes. * Minimum value: 0 (no adherence) * Maximum value: 14 (maximum adherence) * Interpretation: Higher scores indicate a better outcome, meaning greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet and its associated health benefits. A score ≥9 suggests high adherence.
HADS3 months* Full name: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Depression (HADS-D) and Anxiety (HADS-A) Subscales * Purpose: Assesses symptoms of anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D) in hospital and primary care settings, avoiding somatic symptoms to focus on emotional distress. * Minimum value: 0 (no symptoms) * Maximum value: 21 per subscale (total 42 if both are combined) * Interpretation: Higher scores indicate a worse outcome, meaning more severe anxiety or depression symptoms. Scores of 8-10 suggest mild symptoms, 11-14 moderate, and ≥15 severe symptoms.
EuroQol (EQ-5D)3 months* Full name: EuroQol Five-Dimension Scale * Purpose: Measures health-related quality of life (HRQoL) across five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. It also includes a visual analogue scale (VAS) for self-rated health. * Minimum value: 0 (equivalent to death) or negative values (worse than death, depending on country-specific value sets) * Maximum value: 1 (perfect health) * Interpretation: Higher scores indicate a better health-related quality of life.
Angina episodes3 monthsChange in the number of angina episodes/month
PSQI3 months* Full name: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index * Purpose: Assesses sleep quality and disturbances over a 1-month period. It consists of 7 components: Subjective sleep quality, Sleep latency, Sleep duration, Habitual sleep efficiency, Sleep disturbances, Use of sleep medication, Daytime dysfunction * Minimum value: 0 (best sleep quality) * Maximum value: 21 (worst sleep quality) * Interpretation: Higher scores indicate a worse outcome, meaning poorer sleep quality. A global PSQI score \>5 suggests poor sleep quality.
Barthel Score3 months* Full name: Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living * Purpose: Evaluates functional independence in activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, dressing, mobility, and feeding, primarily in stroke and rehabilitation patients. * Minimum value: 0 (total dependence) * Maximum value: 100 (complete independence) * Interpretation: Higher scores indicate a better outcome, meaning greater independence in daily activities.

Countries

Spain

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026