Enhancing Cardiac Rehabilitation Attendance After Secondary Myocardial Infarction Through Clinician Messaging and Motivational Calls

NCT07485491 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 2 other identifiers: 2026P0006325K23HL167659
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine if a behavioral intervention can increase attendance at cardiac rehabilitation (CR) after secondary/type 2 myocardial infarction in adult patients. The main question it aims to answer is:

• Does the ATTEND-CR intervention increase attendance at ≥1 CR exercise session within 140 days of randomization?
• Does the intervention increase completion of ≥12 CR exercise sessions within 140 days of randomization? Researchers will compare participants receiving the ATTEND-CR intervention (clinician notifications and a motivational interviewing participant phone call) to usual care to see if attendance and completion of CR improve. Participants:
• Clinicians will receive informational messaging regarding CR and the referral process
• Participate in a motivational interviewing phone call (intervention group only)
• Have follow-up assessments via telephone and electronic health record (EHR) review to track CR attendance, clinical events, and health outcomes

Conditions

Type 2 Myocardial Infarction

Keywords

Type 2 myocardial infarction; Secondary myocardial infarction; Cardiac Rehabilitation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Number of Participants Who Attended one or more Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Session

  Attendance at one or more cardiac rehabilitation exercise session

  Within 140 days (inclusive) post-randomization

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Number of Participants With a Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral

  Within 140 days (inclusive) post-randomization

• Number of Participants who Completed Cardiac Rehabilitation

  Within 140 days (inclusive) post-randomization

• Feasibility indicators

  Recruitment Time Frame: Through completion of enrollment, an average of 18 months. Retention Time Frame: Through completion of participant follow-up, an average of 20 weeks.

Other Outcomes (14)

• All-cause mortality

  Within 140 days (inclusive) post-randomization

• All-cause hospitalization

  Within 140 days (inclusive) post randomization

• Major adverse cardiovascular event

  Within 140 days (inclusive) post randomization

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Arm (ATTEND-CR):

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants clinicians receive an informational message about cardiac rehabilitation and the cardiac rehabilitation referral process. Participants who are referred to cardiac rehabilitation receive a phone call post-discharge applying principles of motivational interviewing. The goal is to encourage cardiac rehabilitation attendance.

Behavioral: Clinician-level intervention; Behavioral: Patient-level intervention

Usual Care Arm

NO INTERVENTION

Participants receive standard post-MI care without clinician informative messaging or a motivational interviewing phone call from the study team. They may still be referred to and attend CR based on usual clinical practice.

Interventions

Clinician-level intervention BEHAVIORAL

The inpatient clinical team receives an EPIC in-basket and email detailing the patient's study participation, benefits of cardiac rehabilitation, and guidance on how to place a cardiac referral if appropriate. If a cardiac rehabilitation referral is not placed within 3 days post-discharge, a follow-up message is sent to one of the patient's outpatient clinician within 4-28 days post-discharge and within 140 days of randomization.

Intervention Arm (ATTEND-CR):

Patient-level intervention BEHAVIORAL

Participants receive a phone call applying motivational interviewing principles if a cardiac rehabilitation referral has been placed by their clinical team within 56 days post-discharge and within 140 days of randomization. The phone call aims to discuss cardiac rehabilitation, barriers to participation, and support engagement in cardiac rehabilitation.

Intervention Arm (ATTEND-CR):

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age ≥ 18 years
• Inpatient at MGH with an index secondary (type 2) MI
• Primary care provider (PCP) within the Mass General Brigham (MGB) network with at least one visit in the past 2 years
• Anticipated ability to ambulate independently without walking aids or supplemental ambulatory oxygen at discharge
• Ability to provide informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Known severe untreated valvular heart disease or severe prosthetic valve dysfunction
• Known hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy
• End-stage heart failure (VAD, transplant patient, or undergoing evaluation for VAD or transplant)
• Hemodynamic instability at the time of pre-screening
• Terminal illness with life expectancy \< 1 year
• Severe anemia (hemoglobin \< 8 g/dL) at the time of pre-screening
• Active, unstable cancer (excluding non-metastatic skin cancer) or currently receiving intensive cancer therapy
• Advanced kidney disease requiring renal replacement therapy
• Receiving palliative or comfort care only
• Recurrent falls (≥2) or falls with injury in the past year
• Physical or cognitive impairment likely to prevent safe participation in exercise over the next 5 months (e.g., significant stroke deficits, dementia)
• High-risk for non-adherence to study requirements
• Incarcerated individuals
• Currently pregnant or within 3 months postpartum
• Previously referred to or participated in CR within the past year

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Massachusetts General Hospital: lead
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Cian P McCarthy, MB, BCh, BAO, SM

  Massachusetts General Hospital

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Cian McCarthy, MB, BCh, BAO, SM

CONTACT

617-726-2000; CMCCARTHY37@MGB.ORG

Connor Suscha, BS

CONTACT

617-643-2130; csuscha@mgh.harvard.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 12, 2026
• First Posted: March 20, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2028
• Last Updated: March 20, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF
• Time Frame: Anticipated to be available at the time of publication of the study results.

Locations

US (1)