Int J Cardiol. 2026 Apr 8:134480. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2026.134480. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Physical activity levels of cardiac rehabilitation attendees with coronary heart disease (CHD) are low. This study examined whether frequency of physical activity measurement (Measure It!; self-report and step-tracker daily steps; <5 min) influenced ActiGraph accelerometer-measured physical activity in insufficiently active cardiac rehabilitation attendees with CHD.
METHODS: This two-arm multicentre randomised trial with concealed allocation and blinded assessments included cardiac rehabilitation attendees (n = 190) randomised to either 2 or 5-physical activity measurements (2-PAM or 5-PAM) over 24-weeks. The primary outcome was daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA; accelerometry). Secondary outcomes included daily steps (accelerometry), body-mass-index, waist circumference and quality-of-life (AQoL-6D).
RESULTS: Adjusted point estimates of effect for change in MVPA (Cohen's f = 0.05) and daily steps (Cohen's f = 0.14) were higher at 24-weeks for the 5-PAM group than 2-PAM group but did not reach a-priori statistical significance at this small-medium effect size. For daily steps (difference-in-difference 447 steps/day, 95% CI: -44-to-938, p = 0.075) the observed effect may be considered a clinically meaningful margin. Quality-of-life significantly improved within groups over time (p < 0.001). Most participants received the Measure It! intervention as intended (2-PAM 2-measures: 76% (n = 71/94); 5-PAM ≥4-measures: 92% (n = 87/95).
CONCLUSION: The Measure It! very brief physical activity measurement intervention delivered 6-weekly by cardiac rehabilitation clinicians over 24-weeks (5-PAM) may be an efficient and effective approach to increase daily steps and MVPA in insufficiently activity cardiac rehabilitation attendees with CHD. However, larger trials are required as this trial was designed to detect a larger effect, and findings should be interpreted with caution.
PMID:41962664 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijcard.2026.134480