Prehabilitation before heart surgery for adults with congenital heart disease

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This randomized trial compares usual pre-surgical care to a structured prehabilitation program for adults with congenital heart disease who need cardiac surgery. Participants in the intervention arm complete a several-week, tailored exercise plan supervised by professionals before surgery. Outcomes focus on preoperative fitness and readiness for surgery, using standard measures such as peak oxygen uptake. The trial aims to determine if prehabilitation can improve physical fitness and potentially influence surgical recovery.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Adults with congenital heart disease requiring cardiac surgery via sternotomy or thoracotomy.
* Capacity to provide informed consent.
* Ability and willingness to engage in exercise-based interventions.
* Peak VO2 \<30ml/kg/min at preoperative exercise assessment.
* Participant reached peak VO2 in preoperative exercise assessment (RER \>1.0).
* Ability to communicate in English.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Surgery is scheduled for a date that precludes participation in the programme - surgical date is \<9 weeks away.
* Pregnancy of \<6 months postpartum.
* History of pneumothorax within the last 3 months.
* Resting oxygen saturations \<94%.
* Uncorrected right-to-left shunt with exercise.
* Fontan physiology.
* Pulmonary hypertension.
* Critical valvular obstruction.
* Sustained ventricular arrhythmia.
* Severe aortic dilatation (\>45mm in Marfan syndrome or hereditary aortopathy, \>50mm in bicuspid or tricuspid aortic valves).

The oldest person operated upon by the ACHD service was 78 years old. Upper age is not an exclusion criteria.

Where it's running

• Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  Liverpool, United Kingdom Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Julia D Jones, MD — Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Study coordinator: Elen H Hughes, MBBCh
• Email: elen.hughes@lhch.nhs.uk
• Phone: +44 01516001616

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

• Personalized lung volume optimization with PEEP titration for children after heart surgery or with severe respiratory failure

  This trial tests whether a personalized lung volume optimization maneuver using PEEP titration can improve heart and lung function in children after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery or in those with severe respiratory failure at risk for ECMO.

  Recruiting Phase 1/2 Charite University, Berlin, Germany · Tübingen · NCT07193719

• Impact of Fast-Track Anesthesia on Postoperative Delirium After Cardiac Surgery

  This observational study tests whether fast-track anesthesia, compared with conventional care, is linked to lower rates of delirium after elective cardiac surgery in adults.

  Recruiting Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University · Nanchang, Jiangxi · NCT07923344

• Sarcopenia in Patients After Cardiac Surgery

  This observational study tests how common sarcopenia is after cardiac surgery and whether current care helps improve muscle mass and function.

  Recruiting Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven · Leuven · NCT07908472

• Preoperative functional optimization for adults undergoing major cardiac or abdominal surgery

  This study tests a four‑week prehabilitation program to improve fitness before elective major cardiac or abdominal surgery.

  Recruiting ASST Sette Laghi · Varese, VA and 1 other locations · NCT07851350

• Oral Extubation Right After Cardiac Surgery

  This trial tests whether waking patients and removing the breathing tube in the operating room after elective cardiac surgery helps recovery more quickly without added risk.

  Recruiting Massachusetts General Hospital · Boston, Massachusetts and 1 other locations · NCT07757880

• Adapting and testing PEN-Plus in Zambian primary care

  Aiming to see if the PEN-Plus package can be adapted and used in two Zambian hospitals to better manage chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and sickle cell in primary care.

  Recruiting Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia · Lusaka, Lusaka Province · NCT07753681

How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.