ProActive Heart Trial

Project Team

Project Outline

Even though cardiac rehabilitation and other kinds of secondary prevention programs have been shown to be very effective in improving outcomes after a heart attack, it has been demonstrated that up to 85% of Australians are unable to attend such programs due to a lack of transport or other reasons. Therefore we have developed a new telephone-delivered program after a heart attack, so that people can access the program from their own homes.

This study examined the effectiveness of a new type of program for people who had recently had a heart attack. To determine the effectiveness of this program, it was necessary for the research team to divide participants into two groups: one group received the program including health coaching sessions and an educational booklet ('Health Coaching Group') and the other group received an educational booklet only ('Education Group'). This was necessary in order to compare the outcomes for each group and determine whether the full program was effective.

What did the study involve? 

Participants were randomly allocated to either the Health Coaching Group or the Education Group:

The Health Coaching Group
The Health Coaching group received up to ten 20 minute telephone calls from a Health Coach over a six month period. The Health Coach worked with participants to help manage their heart condition, as well as to reduce their risk of any further heart problems.

The Education Group
The Education Group received an educational booklet called ‘My Heart My Life’, produced by the Heart Foundation, in addition to usual care from doctors and other health professionals.

Telephone Interviews
All participants received a call from the research team one week post-discharge from hospital to complete a telephone interview, followed by two further phone interviews, one at six months and another at 12 months. The interviewer asked about their general health and wellbeing.

What do I do if I want to know more?

If you have any questions about this project which is nearing completion, please contact IPHU Manager - Sally Kerr on (03) 9903 0250 or iphuadmin.depm@monash.edu

Project Outcomes

ProActive Study Protocol

Anna L Hawkes, John Atherton , C. Barr Taylor, Paul Scuffham, Kathy Eadie, Nancy Houston Miller and Brian Oldenburg (2009) Randomised controlled trial of a secondary prevention program for myocardial infarction patients ('ProActive Heart'): study protocol. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders 9:16