ISRCTN29243064.

Trial name or title	Long‐term effectiveness of a comprehensive cardiac telerehabilitation program (Telerehab III): a randomised controlled trial
Methods	Study design: Multicentre randomised controlled trial. Study location: Belgium.
Participants	CHD diagnosis/treatment: Coronary artery disease and heart failure. Recruited online or offline? Offline, recruited from hospitals.
Interventions	Name of the intervention: The intervention does not have a name. Intervention aim: To improve the long‐term physical fitness of people with heart disease. Intervention features: The program consisted of dietary, smoking cessation, and activity telecoaching. Participants also received prescribed exercise training, and wore a physical activity monitor throughout the program. Data from the monitor had to be regularly uploaded to the web‐based program, which then generated personalised feedback designed to encourage participants to achieve predefined goals. How was the intervention introduced to the sample? Participants receive training on how to use the programme. Was there any contact between the researcher/healthcare professional and the sample during the intervention? Participants were provided with weekly feedback on physical activity levels, which was sent by email or SMS, or both, depending on participant preference. Intended duration of the intervention? 6 months. Control group: Usual cardiac rehabilitation.
Outcomes	Measures: 1. Physical activity. Measurement tool: an accelerometer and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. 2. Blood pressure. 3. Blood lipids. 4. Quality of life. Measurement tool: HeartQoL and EQ‐5D. Time points: 6‐week and 6‐month follow‐up.
Starting date	February 2013
Contact information	Principal Investigator: Professor Paul Dendale, paul.dendale@uhasselt.be Contact: Dr Ines Frederix, ines.frederix@gmail.com
Notes	Trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry. Registration number: ISRCTN29243064