The Effects of Exercise in the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Effects of Supervised Exercise Training in the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Statin and Non-Statin Users
IRAS ID
293861
Contact name
Chris Pugh
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff Metropolitan University
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN00000000
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 2 months, 1 days
Research summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to any condition that affects the heart and/or blood vessels (e.g. heart attack, stroke) and is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Regular exercise and statin therapy are widely recommended as frontline prevention strategies to reduce CVD risk. Recent changes to NHS healthcare guidelines state that even individuals with a relatively low risk of CVD (≥10% risk score) should take a statin. When prescribed after a heart attack or stroke, both exercise and statins reduce the risk of a CVD-related death by ~25%, with some evidence to suggest that the combination of these therapies may offer additive cardiovascular protection. However, far less is known about the combined effects of exercise and statin therapy in primary CVD prevention (i.e. before a CVD-event). Poor blood vessel function represents the earliest stage of CVD, which can be measured with ultrasound at different regions of the body (limbs, brain, heart) to sensitively detect early CVD-risk. Regular exercise provides a variety of cardiovascular benefits and has a direct therapeutic effect on blood vessel function. In contrast, statin therapy primarily reduces CVD-risk by lowering cholesterol, which may also improve blood vessel function. Although both therapies can separately reduce CVD risk, the interaction between exercise training and statin therapy on blood vessel function has never been directly compared in the setting of primary prevention, and it’s currently unknown whether a combination of both therapies offers additional cardiovascular benefit. Therefore, the main aims of this study are to (i) investigate the effect of supervised exercise training on blood vessel function (limbs, brain, heart) in individuals with a CVD-risk score of ≥10% and (ii) examine whether these exercise effects differ in individuals taking a statin compared to those not taking a statin.
REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
21/WA/0323
Date of REC Opinion
22 Oct 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion