Key result
Adding remote exercise to centre-based rehabilitation fails to increase full program completion.
Why the trial?
Most patients never complete exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation after myocardial infarction, partly because centre-based programmes are hard to attend. Whether offering remotely delivered exercise increases participation and completion had not been tested in a randomised setting.
Does offering remotely delivered exercise increase the mean number of completed exercise sessions in patients with type 1 myocardial infarction?
Population
Patients aged 18-79 with type 1 MI at 23 Swedish centres (N not reported)
Comparison
Adding a remote exercise option vs centre-based exercise only
Design
Registry-based cluster-randomised crossover trial
Follow-up
15-month intervention and control periods
Authors
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Adding remote options does not raise cardiac rehabilitation completion rates after MI; challenges assumptions that hybrid delivery improves adherence in this population.
| Outcome | Remote option | Centre only |
|---|---|---|
| Completed exercise sessions (mean) | ||
| Not significantly increased · per-arm values not reported | ||
| Completed the full exercise programme | 13.8% | 13.6% |
| When remote sessions were offered, ~38% of recorded sessions were performed remotely | ||
Statistical certainty
sample size and per-arm session counts are not reported in the record (press-release source), and physical capacity improved in both groups with no significant difference but no values are reported.
Design limitations
only about 38% of recorded sessions were performed remotely when offered, limiting the contrast between periods.
Does offering remotely delivered exercise increase the mean number of completed exercise sessions in patients with type 1 myocardial infarction?
Absolute Event Rate: 13.8% vs 13.6%
Offering remote exercise options in addition to center-based exercise did not increase the total number of completed exercise sessions or program completion rates in post-MI patients.
Journal, society, and media accounts. Useful signal, not independent expert judgment.
Maria Bäck (2026) conducted an RCT in type 1 myocardial infarction. Remotely delivered exercise option vs. Centre-based exercise only was evaluated on Proportion completing the full programme. Offering remotely delivered exercise in addition to centre-based exercise did not significantly increase the proportion of patients completing the full rehabilitation programme (13.8% vs 13.6%).
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