Heat Therapy for Peripheral Artery Disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A randomised controlled trial to evaluate heat therapy in the treatment of peripheral artery disease: clinical benefit and mechanisms of action
IRAS ID
305780
Contact name
Amy E Harwood
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester Metropolitan University
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
When blood supply to the legs is restricted, this is a result of a serious common problem known as peripheral artery disease (PAD). People with this problem have severe pain in their legs when they walk, this is known as ‘intermittent claudication’. Often people with this problem are offered a supervised exercise programme. However, we know that many people cannot access or do not want to take part in exercise. Data from our own research, shows that heat therapy may be a potential solution. People may find that heat therapy is more enjoyable than exercise and provides similar health benefits. There is not much research into heat therapy in people with PAD. We have developed a new research study to look at whether heat therapy is safe and effective for people with PAD.
We will undertake a randomised controlled trial (where people are allocated by chance to different conditions). We will compare bathing in hot water for 3 x per week to a control group who does nothing. To do this we need to determine whether this intervention is; 1) feasible for patients to undertake and 2) effective at improving the most important aspects of people’s disease symptoms. To assess this, we will make measurements using state-of-the-art cardiovascular and biochemical methods in people who have undergone this novel intervention and compare the results to patients who have not received any intervention.
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/WM/0078
Date of REC Opinion
21 Apr 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion