A randomized clinical trial of hospital-based, comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation versus usual care for patients with congestive heart failure, ischemic heart disease, or high risk of ischemic heart disease (the DANREHAB trial)-design, intervention, and

Our trial shows that a large-scale, centrally randomized clinical trial on comprehensive CR can be conducted among a broadly defined patient group, but reaching the stipulated number of 1800 patients was difficult. Although the study included relatively many women and older people, elderly patients and patients with high comorbidity were underrepresented, which may influence the external validity.