Virtual reality boosts mood in heart rehab, study finds
NCT ID NCT07195279
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether adding virtual reality (VR) driving simulations to standard cardiac rehabilitation helps heart surgery patients feel less anxious and depressed. Sixty adults recovering from heart surgery took part. The results suggest VR can improve emotional well-being, but it is not a cure or prevention—it is a tool to ease symptoms and make rehab more enjoyable.
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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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60 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2024
- Finished
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Jun 2025
- 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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18 years and older
- 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
* Diagnosis of cardiovascular disease and need for intensive inpatient cardiac rehabilitation after cardiac surgery; * Age over 18 years; * Absence of comorbidities (cognitive deficits, psychiatric syndromes, visual sensitivity; physical conditions); * Ability to understand and follow instructions provided by physiotherapists.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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IRCCS Santa Lucia foundationa and Nomentana Hospital
Rome, Lazio, 00179, Italy
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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