The Norwegian Trial of Physical Exercise After Myocardial Infarction (NorEx)
Myocardial Infarction
About this trial
This is an interventional prevention trial for Myocardial Infarction focused on measuring Exercise therapy, Secondary prevention
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Hospitalized in a Norwegian hospital with an acute myocardial infarction (Type I) during 2013-2022. Patients are included minimum 3 months after hospitalization when they are in a stable clinical condition.
- Norwegian national identification number
- Able to communicate in Norwegian or other Scandinavian language
- Being able to be physically active according to study protocol, as determined by study personnel.
- Signed informed consent.
Exclusion criteria:
- Persons who already participate in physical activity at a similar or higher level than what is prescribed for the intervention group, as determined by study personnel.
- Participating or plans to participate in endurance sport competitions.
- Expected to emigrate during the study
- Cognitive impairment/dementia.
- Alcohol or drug abuse, or serious psychiatric disease.
- Known cardiac disease that may represent a contraindication for moderate or high-intensity physical activity, such as symptomatic valvular heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, uncontrolled hypertension, in-compensated heart failure, serious arrythmia not under control after treatment, pulmonary hypertension, significant angina after revascularization and optimal drug treatment.
- Renal insufficiency requiring dialysis.
- Any end-stage somatic disease with short life expectancy or that is expected to interfere with the participants' ability to comply with the study protocol, such as advanced cancer, chronic lung disease with exacerbations, or other disease, as determined by study personnel.
- Inability to comply with the study protocol due to any physical disability, somatic disease or mental problem, as determined by study personnel.
- Residing in nursing home or other institution.
- Participation in another trial with exercise as an intervention modality.
Sites / Locations
- St Olavs Hospital Clinic of Cardiology
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Experimental
Active Comparator
Other
Physical exercise
Control group I
Control group II (observation group)
Supervised home-based and community-based physical exercise with a dose required to increase cardiorespiratory fitness, i.e. intensity, duration and frequency that accumulates to at least 115 minutes a week of exercise, divided into at least 20 minutes a week of high/vigorous intensity physical activity (active minutes at about 85% of peak heart rate or Rated Perceived Exertion [RPE] of about 16 on Borg scale) and 95 minutes a week at moderate-intensity physical activity (active minutes at about 70% of peak heart rate or RPE of about 13 on Borg Scale), or continuous heart rate measurements amounting to at least 100 Personal Activity Intelligence (PAI) equivalents per week.
Standard care, i.e. advice at study start to follow international guidelines of moderate to vigorous physical activity intensity without further guidance and follow-up by study personnel.
Follow-up through mandatory national heath registries for primary endpoint, without any contact by study personnel.