None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a debilitating and life-threatening vascular disease affecting the lungs. Exercise training has traditionally had little role in the management of patients with PAH due to fears that it may cause disease progression and increase the risk of sudden death. However, this assumption may no longer be valid in patients who are stabilised on new medical therapies. We hypothesise that a supervised exercise training program conducted in the outpatient setting is safe and feasible, and improves exercise capacity, strength and quality of life in people with PAH. People with PAH will undergo 8 weeks of supervised exercise training in the outpatient setting. We will record any adverse events that ocfur during training. Before and after the training we will measure exercise capacity, strength and quality of life. the results of this study will indicate whether exercise training is safe for people with PAH and whether it has potential as a new treatment to improve exericse capacity and wellbeing.
Interventions
Supervised exercise training conducted as an outpatient at the hospital. Participants will attend 90 minute sessions twice weekly for eight weeks and will undertake an individualised program under the supervision of a physiotherapist. Training will include walking, cycling and light weights for the arms and legs.
Sponsors
Alfred Hospital
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Patients will be eligible for inclusion if they are are aged over 18 years and in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II – III. Eligible patients will also be clinically stable and compensated on optimal medical therapy. Clinical stability will be defined as stable symptoms and no evidence of heart failure, a stable NYHA score and no changes in medical therapy over the last three months (16). Patients wth Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH) as well as those with Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) related to connective tissue disease, congenital heart disease, sarcoidosis or the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) will be eligible to participate. All patients will need to have had PAH confirmed on prior right heart catheterisation.
Exclusion criteria
recent syncope (within the last three months) or comorbidities which would preclude participation in an exercise program
Outcome results
None listed