Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional
Official Title: Optimising the Efficacy, Patient Perception and Uptake of an Exercise Programme in People in Intermittent Claudication
Brief Summary:
Background: Peripheral arterial disease is a result of atherosclerotic occlusion in the major arteries supplying the lower limbs and is associated with an increased risk of mortality and morbidity. It results in restricted blood flow to the skeletal muscles causing intermittent claudication (IC). IC presents as cramp like pain affecting 5% of the population >50 years and is associated with a substantial reduction in walking capacity, quality of life and diminished physical function. Supervised exercise programmes have been demonstrated to improve maximum walking distances and NICE recommends group-based supervised exercise for treating patients with IC. However, there is significant variability in the impact of treatment across studies and little agreement on the underlying mechanism whereby exercise increases functional outcomes. Potential mechanisms include skeletal muscle metabolism, VO2 max, anaerobic threshold and endothelial function. Studies are needed to better understand how exercise improves outcome and in whom, so as to better refine and target the treatment.
The participation of patients with IC in exercise programmes is low. The investigators need to understand factors influencing participation so that we can improve the number of patients with IC benefiting from the programme
The research consists of two workstreams:
Workstream one
Objective:
Assess the extent to which patient baseline characteristics and candidate physiological mechanisms are associated with clinical improvement in IC patients participating in an exercise programme
Patients: Patients with documented IC referred from a Vascular Consultant. Eli