Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT07331558

Multimodal VR Rehabilitation for Cardiorespiratory Fitness in CABG Phase II

It will be a randomized clinical trial with a sample size of 66. A convenient sampling technique will be used to recruit the CABG phase II patients for the study. Then, they will be divided into three groups by block randomization. Weight-bearing Liuzijue Qigong will be given as a baseline treatment to all groups. In group A, patients will engage in multimodal circuit training while simultaneously viewing the nature scenes through VR in a clinical setting, in group B, patients will be given multimodal circuit training in a clinical setting while in group C, patients will be given multimodal circuit training through telerehabilitation. The dyspnea 12 Questionnaire will be used for measuring dyspnea, Cooper's 12-minute test will be used to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, echocardiography will be used to assess Left ventricular ejection fraction, EQ-5D-5L will be used to assess quality of life, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) will be used to assess the quality of sleep. Data will be entered and analyzed through SPSS version 21.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

CABG Behavior Personal Satisfaction Psychological Well-Being

Age range

30 year–60 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Riphah International University

Lahore, Punjab Province, 54000, Pakistan

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Wajeeha Zia

CONTACT

[email protected]

03234500788

About this study

CABG Phase II rehabilitation typically begins a few weeks after hospital discharge and is a structured, medically supervised program aimed at stabilizing patients post-surgery. During this phase, patients often struggle with limited physical capacity, reduced exercise tolerance, and fatigue. Effective cardiac rehabilitation during this critical recovery phase is essential for optimizing health outcomes. Multimodal rehabilitation approaches have been shown to enhance recovery. The integration of innovative techniques like Virtual Reality (VR) into these multimodal programs can further engage patients. The objective of the study is to determine the effects of multimodal virtual reality-based rehabilitation on dyspnea, cardiorespiratory fitness, left ventricular ejection fraction, and quality of life in CABG phase II patients.

It will be a randomized clinical trial with a sample size of 66. A convenient sampling technique will be used to recruit the CABG phase II patients for the study. Then, they will be divided into three groups by block randomization. Weight-bearing Liuzijue Qigong will be given as a baseline treatment to all groups. In group A, patients will engage in multimodal circuit training while simultaneously viewing the nature scenes through VR in a clinical setting, in group B, patients will be given multimodal circuit training in a clinical setting while in group C, patients will be given multimodal circuit training through telerehabilitation. The dyspnea 12 Questionnaire will be used for measuring dyspnea, Cooper's 12-minute test will be used to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, echocardiography will be used to assess Left ventricular ejection fraction, EQ-5D-5L will be used to assess quality of life, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) will be used to assess the quality of sleep. Data will be entered and analyzed through SPSS version 21.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients who underwent CABG surgery will be recruited after twelve weeks
  • Both male and female
  • Age 30-60 years old
  • LVEF of < 40%
  • Persistent dyspnea with a self-rated intensity of ⩾5 (out of 10) on a visual analogue dyspnea scale (this dyspnea rating was only used as an inclusion criterion and not as a measure for outcome)
  • Preserved cognitive function (Montreal Cognitive Assessment score >24)

Exclusion criteria

  • Patient with recurrent history of CABG
  • Had a non-cardiac surgical procedure ≤2 months prior to recruitment
  • Unstable angina, uncontrolled hypertension (blood pressure >180/100 mmHg), a pacemaker or atrial fibrillation, documented peak orifice area valve stenosis, symptomatic peripheral arterial disease that limits exercise capacity.
  • Documented chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (FEV1 <60% and FVC <60%)
  • Any shoulder impairment that would limit exercise participation
  • Patients with Kinesiophobia
  • Epilepsy, vertigo, eyesight impairment (conditions contraindicated for VR)

Treatment and study plan

multimodal circuit training while viewing nature scenes through VR in a clinical setting

Other

This will take place in a clinical setting where participants will also view the nature scenes through virtual reality (VR). The approach is multimodal, incorporating education through a booklet, physical activity via circuit training, nutritional counselling with a healthy diet prescription, and psychological well-being enhanced by behavioural cognitive therapy.

multimodal circuit training in a real-world clinical setting

Other

This will take place in a real-world clinical setting. The approach is multimodal, incorporating education through a booklet, physical activity via circuit training, nutritional counselling with a healthy diet prescription, and psychological well-being enhanced by behavioural cognitive therapy.

multimodal circuit training through telerehabilitation

Other

This will take place through Google Meetings. The approach is multimodal, incorporating education through a booklet, physical activity via circuit training, nutritional counselling with a healthy diet prescription, and psychological well-being enhanced by behavioural cognitive therapy.

Primary outcomes

  1. dyspnea by Dyspnea 12 questionnaire

    Time frame: 2 months

    This 12-item questionnaire was developed to measure the severity of dyspnea. The first seven items of this 4-point Likert-type scale (0 = none, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe) ask patients about physical difficulties they experience because of dyspnea. The remaining five items of the questionnaire focus on the affective aspects of breathing. The maximum scores for the physical and affective aspects of the questionnaire are 21 and 15, respectively. The minimum total score for the questionnaire is 0, whereas the maximum total score is 36.The higher the score, the more severe will be the dyspnea.

  2. cardiorespiratory fitness by VO2 max (through Cooper 12 min test)

    Time frame: 2 months

    Cooper proposed an indirect approach to estimate VO2 max based on field data. The test can be easily implemented in a common 400 m track field. After a warmup period of about 10 min, subjects are asked to run/ walk as much distance as possible for 12 min. Cooper conducted the test for 105 subjects and found a positive correlation with the value of VO2max quantified via a formal treadmill test. Cooper used linear regression of the covered distance versus the treadmill-estimated VO2 max to find the following relationship:

    VO 2 max ≈ 11.288+22.351D12.

  3. left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] by echocardiography

    Time frame: 2 months

    LVEF (Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction) by echocardiography is a key measure of heart function, representing the percentage of blood pumped out of the left ventricle with each heartbeat. It is commonly used to assess cardiac efficiency and detect heart failure or other cardiovascular conditions. Echo provides a non-invasive, real-time evaluation of LVEF, offering insights into the heart's pumping capacity and overall health.

  4. Quality of life by EQ-5D-5L

    Time frame: 2 months

    The EQ-5D questionnaire was developed to measure self-reported health simply and generically. It contains a descriptive system that includes the five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/ depression, and a visual analogue scale (the EQ VAS). Both the descriptive system and the EQ VAS measure the current health of the respondent. Combining the respondents' answers in each of the five dimensions of the descriptive system results in a unique health state. On the EQ-VAS, the respondents rate their current health on a scale ranging from 0 to 100. Zero represents "the worst health you can imagine" and 100 represents "the best health you can imagine".

Secondary outcomes

  1. Sleep by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

    Time frame: 2 months

    The PSQI is an 18-item constructed questionnaire designed to assess overall sleep quality over 1 month. The 18 items are divided into 7 derived component scores: (1) sleep quality, (2) sleep latency, (3) sleep duration, (4) sleep efficiency, (5) sleep disturbance, (6) medication use and (7) daytime dysfunction. These items are rated in terms of the frequency or severity of the problem on a four-point Likert scale (e.g., 0 = Not during the past month, 1 = Less than once a week, 2 = Once or twice a week, 3 = Three or more times a week). The sum of the component scores yields a global PSQI score that ranges from 0 to 21, with higher scores representing lower sleep quality.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Wajeeha Zia, PP-DPT

CONTACT

[email protected]

03234500788

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Riphah International University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Effects of Multimodal Virtual Reality-based Rehabilitation on Dyspnea, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction, and Quality of Life in CABG Phase II

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Jan 12, 2026
Registry last updated
Jan 12, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.