Ready for Recovery Pilot Trial

Prehabilitation for Aortic Aneurysm Surgery: The Ready for Recovery Randomized Pilot Trial

This is a three-arm, randomized pilot trial to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of two multicomponent interventions to promote recovery from aortic aneurysm repair procedures.

This is a three-arm, randomized pilot trial to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of two multicomponent programs (Ready for Recovery and an enhanced version of the program) to prepare patients for aortic aneurysm repair and to promote their recovery. Ready for Recovery is a 6-week collaborative care program to prepare individuals for surgical procedures to repair an aortic aneurysm. Participants will speak with a study trainer on the phone each week and will set goals related to physical activity, a healthy diet, and inspiratory muscle training. They also will be given resources to reduce stress, treat anxiety and depression (if present), and stop smoking, and the study team will make recommendations regarding medication adjustments to reduce complications after surgery. The enhanced version has an additional four weeks of phone sessions post-surgery, to provide support and guidance during the early recovery period. The control condition will be standard medical care. The primary outcome is feasibility (measured by proportion of sessions completed). Secondary outcomes include acceptability (measured by weekly 0-10 utility ratings) and preliminary impact on functional, psychological, and health behavior outcomes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults undergoing elective aortic aneurysm repair (open or endovascular)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Emergent aortic aneurysm repair
• Cognitive disturbance
• Functional impairment significantly impacting the ability to stand or walk
• Current pregnancy or plan to become pregnant prior to surgery
• Inability to write/speak fluently in English
• Lack of access to a phone, computer, or tablet with internet access