The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of a home-based exercise intervention on walking ability in people with peripheral artery disease. In 200 patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), the investigators are conducting a randomized controlled trial to determine whether a patient-centered home-based exercise program improves walking ability, physical activity, mobility, pain, and social functioning, compared to a usual care group.
Lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common and chronic condition that affects 8 million people in the United States. PAD patients have difficulty walking because cholesterol blockages in their leg arteries prevent adequate oxygen supply to leg muscles during that activity. PAD patients reduce their physical activity levels and slow their walking speed to avoid leg pain. Few therapies are available to help PAD patients improve their walking limitations. Treadmill exercise programs that require three or more supervised exercise sessions per week at an exercise facility can help PAD patients walk with less pain. However, most people with PAD do not participate in supervised exercise programs because they are not paid for by medical insurance and the requirements are burdensome for the patients. The investigators have engaged PAD patients and relevant stakeholders to develop a home-based exercise intervention that is tailored to the needs of the patients. Our home-based exercise intervention includes a Fitbit activity monitor and a coach who will telephone PAD participants at regularly scheduled intervals. PAD patients will use the Fitbit to help them monitor their exercise behavior. The coach will use well-established behavioral methods during the scheduled telephone calls to help PAD patients adhere to regular walking exercise. The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial of 200 patients with PAD to determine whether our home-based walking exercise program significantly improves walking performance and other patient-centered outcomes at the nine-month follow-up, compared to usual care. PAD patients selected the trial's outcome measures as those that best represent PAD patients' physical limitations. All outcomes are well-validated and accepted outcome measures. The primary outcome measure is the six-minute walk test, an objective measure of walking endurance. Secondary outcomes consist of the Walking Impairment Questionnaire and the PROMIS questionnaires that assess patient-perceived walking ability, mobility, pain, and social functioning. If our home-based exercise intervention is successful, the intervention will have a substantial impact on the large and growing number of people disabled by PAD.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
200
The home-based exercise intervention focuses on walking exercise and consists of two phases. Phase I (weeks 1-4) consists of four on-site visits to an exercise facility, where participants will meet the telephone coach, learn to use the Fitbit activity monitor, become familiar with the study website, learn behavioral skills necessary for long-term adherence to home-based exercise, and get started on their exercise program. Phase II (weeks 5-36) is entirely home-based and includes a) use of the Fitbit for self-monitoring; and b) regularly scheduled telephone calls from the study telephone coach to monitor and support participants' home exercise activity' c) use of the study website; d) optional group telephone calls.
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Northwestern University feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois, United States
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
New York University School of Medicine
New York, New York, United States
Change in Six-Minute Walk Performance at 9-month follow-up
In the six-minute walk, participants walk back and forth along a 100-ft hallway for six minutes after standardized instructions to complete as many laps as possible. Distance covered in six minutes is recorded.
Time frame: change from baseline to month 9
Change in Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ) distance and speed and stair-climbing scores between baseline and nine-month follow-up
The WIQ is a well validated questionnaire that measures patient-reported walking limitations in distance and speed.
Time frame: change from baseline to month 9 follow-up
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Questionnaires
PROMIS Physical Function, PROMIS Pain Interference and PROMIS Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities questionnaires will be used to assess patient-reported health status for physical, mental, and social well-being.
Time frame: change from baseline to month 9 follow-up
Short-Form 36 (SF-36) physical functioning score
The SF-36 physical functioning score is a well-validated quality of life measure frequently used to assess changes in response to therapeutic interventions in patients with PAD.
Time frame: change from baseline to month 9 follow-up
Actigraph-measured physical activity.
The Actigraph will be used to measure physical activity.
Time frame: change in physical activity from baseline to 9 month follow-up
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