R01 grant received, had to terminate preliminary research

This study builds on the tested and refined HEART Camp intervention which has been shown to improve long-term adherence to exercise in individuals diagnosed with heart failure. HEART Camp Connect enhances HEART Camp by delivering the coaching via videoconference and providing access to hospital-based exercise facilities and online exercise programming. This prospective study uses a 2-group, randomized repeated measures experimental design with 3 data collection points baseline, Month 3, and Month 6.

Potential participants will be approached at a Heart Failure clinic at an academic medical center. As a secondary recruitment strategy, we will use a database that identifies patients who previously indicated their willingness to be contacted for clinical research.

Study personnel will obtain informed consent in person in a private room or over the phone facilitated by the academic medical center electronic consent process. Once consented, participants will complete cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) to guide individual exercise prescriptions and protect against risks associated with exercise. CPET results that preclude safe exercise training (arrhythmia) or those with CPET results indicating cardio-respiratory fitness (females with maximum oxygen consumption ≥ 21ml/kg/min and males with oxygen consumption ≥ 24 ml/kg/min) will be withdrawn from the study.

Participants will be given instruction on the use of the heart rate monitor. Participants will wear their monitor exercise sessions for heart rate monitoring. Participants will also receive educational training via videos on topics such as exercising with heart failure, how medications impact exercise, and nutrition.

Participants will be instructed to wear a heart rate monitor and strive to meet a goal of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. Minutes toward adherence goals for the study will be calculated as time spent participating in a moderate-intensity activity and determined by their CPET results and personalized exercise prescription.

Each participant will be given access to an Omaha-based exercise coach that he/she will meet with weekly over Zoom for 30 minutes. Coaches will discuss exercise over the past week including problems, issues, concerns. Goals will be set, reviewed, assessed, and revised each week. For virtual exercise, all participants will access a Virtual Wellness Center.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of heart failure (HF) with an ejection fraction (EF) ≥50%
• Age ≥18 years
• English-speaking
• Echocardiogram in prior 12 months
• Stable pharmacologic therapy in past 30 days

Exclusion Criteria:

• Score<6 on a diagnostic algorithm
• Life-limiting illness precluding study completion
• Clinical evidence of decompensated HF
• Unstable angina or marked shortness of breath on exertion at <2 metabolic equivalents
• Myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass surgery, or biventricular pacemaker <6 weeks
• Orthopedic or neuromuscular disorders preventing participation in aerobic exercise
• Cardiopulmonary exercise test results that preclude safe exercise
• Unwilling/unable to complete pre-randomization procedures
• Pregnancy
• Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator

Events data collected for 3 months

We used standard definitions.

We initially planned to enroll 25 participants per arm but upon receipt of R01 funding the funds for this pilot study had to be forfeited. Therefore, only 7 were enrolled and completed. Data collection and analyses were limited.