The Reducing Exercise Sensitivity With Exposure Training (RESET) Study

Fear of exercise may be prominent among acute coronary syndrome (ACS) survivors due to the presence of physical disease states that can exacerbate uncertainty about bodily sensations. For instance, patients may perceive physical sensations experienced during exercise (e.g., increased heart rate, shortness of breath, fatigue) as dangerous, intolerable, or similar to sensations experienced or attributed to their ACS, resulting in a fear of exercise sensations (i.e., exercise sensitivity). As a result, patients may avoid heart healthy activities, such as cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and physical activity, that prompt these physical sensations or terminate activities at the first sign of discomfort. Novel programs that target patient-level fears related to exercise sensations (i.e., exercise sensitivity) during the first-year post-discharge (the time window patients are eligible for CR) may be needed to improve CR participation and physical activity levels. To the investigator's knowledge, no intervention has been developed specifically to reduce exercise sensitivity in ACS survivors within the first year post-hospital discharge; a vulnerable population that is extremely sedentary, fails to meet physical activity guidelines, and with the most to gain from CR and physical activity participation. Thus, the investigator developed a de novo protocol for a reducing exercise sensitivity with exposure training (RESET) intervention.