Telemedicine-supported prehabilitation to prepare heart failure patients for cardiac surgery
Prospective, Randomized Open Label Trial of Telemedically Assisted Optimization for Heart Failure Patients Before Cardiac Surgery to Improve Perioperative Outcome
This trial will see if a telemedicine-supported prehabilitation program helps people with heart failure and high NT-proBNP who are having elective cardiac surgery have fewer complications around the time of surgery.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 162 (estimated) |
| Ages | 18 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Medical University Innsbruck Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Innsbruck, Tyrol) |
| Trial ID | NCT07391683 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
This interventional program enrolls adult heart failure patients scheduled for elective cardiac surgery who have elevated NT‑proBNP, and delivers a structured, multidisciplinary PREPARE‑HF telemedicine disease management package before surgery. The program combines remote monitoring, medication optimization, patient education, and tailored prehabilitation interventions coordinated by cardiology and cardiac surgery teams. Outcomes include perioperative complications, need for ECMO or renal replacement therapy, ICU and hospital length of stay, and short-term mortality. The trial is single-center and uses biomarker-driven selection to focus resources on patients at higher risk.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Adults (≥18) with heart failure who are planned for elective cardiac surgery, have NT‑proBNP ≥1500 ng/L, can use telemedicine or have support to do so, and can provide informed consent are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: Patients on chronic dialysis, those planned for heart transplant or durable LVAD, those unable to use or engage with telemedicine, or those with severe neuropsychiatric conditions are unlikely to benefit from this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could reduce perioperative complications and shorten ICU and hospital stays, lowering the need for ECMO or dialysis.
How similar studies have performed: Telemedical disease management programs have shown benefit in outpatient heart failure care, but applying such programs specifically as preoperative prehabilitation is a novel and underexplored approach.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Indication for elective cardiac surgery in the Heart team * NTproBNP ≥ 1500 ng/L * ≥ 18 years willing to participate in trial * Written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Neuropsychiatric disorders / illnesses (e.g. drug addiction, alcohol abuse) that do not allow adherent participation in the study * No sufficient ability to measure and transfer data or existing support in the social environment * no sufficient ability to communicate (language skills, eyesight, hearing) * Pregnancy * Chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis * Planed procedure: heart transplantation (HTX), implant of left ventricular mechanical assist devices (L-VAD)
Where this trial is running
Innsbruck, Tyrol
- Medical University of Innsbruck - Department of Cardiology & Department of Cardiac Surgery — Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Can Gollmann-Tepeköylü, Prof. — Medical University of Innsbruck - Department of cardiac surgery
- Study coordinator: Can Gollmann-Tepeköylü, Prof.
- Email: can.gt@i-med.ac.at
- Phone: +4351250480466
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.