{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T21:47:24Z","timestamp":1781646444324,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,14]],"date-time":"2023-01-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1673654400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Dalhousie University"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Many patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are frail. Center-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) can improve frailty; however, whether virtual CR provides similar frailty improvements has not been examined. To answer this question, we (1) compared the effect of virtual and accelerated center-based CR on frailty and (2) determined if admission frailty affected frailty change and CVD biomarkers. The virtual and accelerated center-based CR programs provided exercise and education on nutrition, medication, exercise safety, and CVD. Frailty was measured with a 65-item frailty index. The primary outcome, frailty change, was analyzed with a two-way mixed ANOVA. Simple slopes analysis determined whether admission frailty affected frailty and CVD biomarker change by CR model type. Our results showed that admission frailty was higher in center-based versus virtual participants. However, we observed no main effect of CR model on frailty change. Results also revealed that participants who were frailer at CR admission observed greater frailty improvements and reductions in triglyceride and cholesterol levels when completing virtual versus accelerated center-based CR. Even though both program models did not change frailty, higher admission frailty was associated with greater frailty reductions and change to some CVD biomarkers in virtual CR.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20021554","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,16]],"date-time":"2023-01-16T02:04:45Z","timestamp":1673834685000},"page":"1554","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Comparing Virtual and Center-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation on Changes in Frailty"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8792-3374","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Evan","family":"MacEachern","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicholas","family":"Giacomantonio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Olga","family":"Theou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"},{"name":"Division of Geriatric Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0998-0485","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jack","family":"Quach","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wanda","family":"Firth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hearts and Health in Motion, Nova Scotia Health, Halifax, NS B3L 0B7, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ifedayo","family":"Abel-Adegbite","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dustin Scott","family":"Kehler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"},{"name":"Division of Geriatric Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1081","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cjca.2020.03.007","article-title":"Recent Trends in Hospitalizations for Cardiovascular Disease, Stroke, and Vascular Cognitive Impairment in Canada","volume":"36","author":"Botly","year":"2020","journal-title":"Can. 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