Virtual reality workouts could ease breathing after heart surgery
NCT ID NCT07331558
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether adding virtual reality (VR) nature scenes to exercise training helps people who had heart bypass surgery breathe easier and feel better. 66 adults with low heart function and ongoing shortness of breath will be split into three groups: one does circuit training while viewing VR nature scenes, another does the same training without VR, and a third does the training at home via video. Researchers will measure breathing, heart function, fitness, sleep, and quality of life to see which approach works best.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 66 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Dec 2025
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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30 to 60 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients who underwent CABG surgery will be recruited after twelve weeks * Both male and female * Age 30-60 years old * LVEF of \< 40% * Persistent dyspnea with a self-rated intensity of ⩾5 (out of 10) on a visual analogue dyspnea scale (this dyspnea rating was only used as an inclusion criterion and not as a measure for outcome) * Preserved cognitive function (Montreal Cognitive Assessment score \>24) Exclusion Criteria: * Patient with recurrent history of CABG * Had a non-cardiac surgical procedure ≤2 months prior to recruitment * Unstable angina, uncontrolled hypertension (blood pressure \>180/100 mmHg), a pacemaker or atrial fibrillation, documented peak orifice area valve stenosis, symptomatic peripheral arterial disease that limits exercise capacity. * Documented chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (FEV1 \<60% and FVC \<60%) * Any shoulder impairment that would limit exercise participation * Patients with Kinesiophobia * Epilepsy, vertigo, eyesight impairment (conditions contraindicated for VR)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Riphah International University
RECRUITINGLahore, Punjab Province, 54000, Pakistan
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a Pre-Surgery nerve block stop years of chest pain after heart surgery?
- Can ancient herbs speed up heart surgery recovery?
- Can a neck nerve block calm the Body's inflammatory storm after heart surgery?
- Could skipping the breathing tube speed heart surgery recovery?
- Timing is everything: could physiotherapy minutes after extubation prevent lung complications?
- Pre-surgery exercise program may help high-risk heart patients leave the hospital sooner