Combining Vascular and Cardiac Rehabilitation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An investigation into the feasibility of incorporating an exercise rehabilitation programme for people with intermittent claudication into an already established Cardiac Rehabilitation service.
IRAS ID
230391
Contact name
Edward Caldow
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Salford
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a disease caused by fatty plaques furring up artery walls, especially those arteries that supply blood to the legs. The main presenting symptom of peripheral artery disease (PAD) is intermittent claudication (IC) which is pain or discomfort in the calf, thigh or buttock that is brought on by exertion and relieved with rest. It is estimated that 20% of people over 65 years of age have peripheral artery disease (Kassar, 2006) and presence of PAD is a very powerful marker of cardiovascular risk and preventable cardiovascular deaths. Following the initial diagnosis of PAD, the risk of developing heart disease (such as heart attack and stroke) within the next 5 years is 50% (AACVPR, 2013). In 2012 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued guidance stating that supervised exercise programmes (SEPs) should be offered as first-line treatment for people diagnosed IC. This is before other treatments such as surgery should be considered. However, there is a national shortage of dedicated SEPs for IC patients that UK vascular specialists can refer patients to. There has been suggestion that an already established network of Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) departments within the UK could cater for this group of patients, as they already have facilities and staff in place. However, there has been no investigations to date on whether this would be successful. This research project aims to investigate if CR programmes could get the same outcomes for IC patients as a stand-alone IC rehabilitation programme. The study would investigate the possible positive and negative impact on both the IC and CR patient groups in attending a combined rehabilitation programme of exercise.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/NW/0375
Date of REC Opinion
11 Jun 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion