Recruiting

Cardiac College for Women

Sponsor:

University Health Network, Toronto

Code:

NCT07550036

Conditions

Cardiovascular Diseases

Heart Diseases

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice

Behavior, Health

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Cardiac College for Women

Usual Cardiac Rehab Education

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn if a women-focused education program can improve knowledge, health, and well-being in women with heart disease who are attending cardiac rehabilitation. It will also help researchers understand if this program can be delivered successfully in different rehabilitation programs.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Is it feasible to deliver this women-focused education program within routine cardiac rehabilitation programs?
  • Do women who receive this program show improvements in heart health knowledge, quality of life, and healthy behaviours?

Researchers will compare women who receive the Cardiac College for Women program plus usual cardiac rehabilitation to those who receive usual cardiac rehabilitation alone to see if the program leads to better outcomes.

Participants will:

  • Be randomly assigned to receive either the women-focused education program or usual care
  • Attend cardiac rehabilitation as part of their regular care
  • Complete questionnaires at the start and end of the program
  • (If in the intervention group) attend online education sessions and use supporting materials
  • (Optional) take part in a group discussion about their experience after completing the program

Conditions

Cardiovascular Diseases

Heart Diseases

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice

Behavior, Health

Study ID

NCT07550036

Start date

Aug 21, 2026

Status verified date

Aug, 2026

Completion date

Sep 1, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jul 1, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Identify as a woman
  • Aged 18 years or older
  • Enrolled in a participating cardiac rehabilitation program
  • Diagnosis consistent with cardiac rehabilitation eligibility (e.g., coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, revascularization procedures, spontaneous coronary artery dissection, myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or heart failure)
  • Able to provide informed consent
  • Able to participate in educational sessions in English or French (site-dependent)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Medical, cognitive, or psychiatric conditions that would prevent participation in educational sessions or completion of study questionnaires
  • Inability to access or use online educational sessions or digital materials required for the intervention

Study Design

Enrollment

50 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Health Services Research

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Cardiac College for Women + Usual Cardiac Rehabilitation

Participants receive the Cardiac College for Women program in addition to usual cardiac rehabilitation care. The intervention consists of 12 structured, women-focused online education sessions delivered during the cardiac rehabilitation program. Sessions address sex- and gender-specific cardiovascular risk factors, lifestyle behaviours, psychosocial health, and self-management. Participants also receive tailored educational materials and complete a reflection diary. Usual cardiac rehabilitation includes supervised exercise, standard education, and risk factor management.

active comparator: Usual Cardiac Rehabilitation

Participants receive usual cardiac rehabilitation care, which includes supervised exercise, cardiovascular risk factor management, and standard group-based education sessions. Educational content covers topics such as lifestyle modification, medication adherence, and secondary prevention but is not specifically tailored to women.

Interventions

Cardiac College for Women

Cardiac College for Women is a structured, women-focused cardiovascular education program delivered online during participation in cardiac rehabilitation. It consists of 12 sessions (60 minutes each) covering sex- and gender-specific cardiovascular risk factors, healthy lifestyle behaviours, psychosocial well-being, and self-management strategies. Sessions include presentations, videos, and interactive discussions facilitated by trained cardiac rehabilitation staff. Participants also receive tailored educational materials relevant to their cardiac condition and complete a reflection diary to support learning and behaviour change. The program is delivered remotely to improve accessibility and complement usual cardiac rehabilitation care.

Usual Cardiac Rehab Education

Standard cardiac rehabilitation education delivered as part of routine care. This includes group-based sessions covering cardiovascular risk factors, lifestyle modification, medication management, and secondary prevention. Sessions are typically delivered in mixed-gender groups and are not specifically tailored to women's cardiovascular health needs. Participants also receive supervised exercise and multidisciplinary support as part of comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation.

Primary outcome measure

  • Feasibility of delivering a women-focused education program within cardiac rehabilitation [ Time Frame: Baseline to end of cardiac rehabilitation (approximately 12-16 weeks) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Gabriela LM Ghisi, PhD

4165973422gabriela.meloghisi@uhn.ca

Locations

UHN Cardiovascular Prevention Program

Recruiting

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4G1R7

Contacts

Camila Kummel Duarte, PhD

+1-416-597-3422wecare.trial@uhn.ca

More Information

Sponsor

University Health Network, Toronto

Last update posted

Aug 31, 2026

Last verified

Aug, 2026

Keywords

  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Women's Health
  • Patient Education
  • Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
  • Secondary Prevention
  • Health Education
  • Women-Focused Care
  • Gender-Specific Care
  • Digital Health / Virtual Care
  • Self-Management
  • Health Behaviour Change
  • Quality of Life
  • Feasibility Study
  • Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University Health Network, Toronto on 2026-08-31.