None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Chronic heart failure is a common and debilitating condition and most commonly occurs in the elderly. Although physical activity is part of recommended self-management plans, older, community dwelling individuals find this challenging. We have developed a program, based on the well-validated six minute walk test, which not only provides the structure and motivation for the individual to undertake physical activity but also generates a measurement that can be used by patients and clinicians alike to monitor their functional status. In addition, this model of intervention will provide structured telephone follow-up to promote adherence to the treatment principles. This study will use a randomized controlled trail design to test if the Home-Heart-Walk program can improve self-management through increasing the participant’s self-efficacy for physical activity and their functional status and health related quality of life.
Interventions
All participants will undergo baseline assessment including a standardised six munite walk test, heart rate assessment, blood pressure measurement and questionnaires to assess functional status and self-efficacy. All participants will receive an information session from a cardiac nurse identifying the importance of self-management. They will also be given an action plan and the National Heart Foundation Consumer Resource Guide, which are part of the routine care provided by the Area Health Servi
All participants will undergo baseline assessment including a standardised six munite walk test, heart rate assessment, blood pressure measurement and questionnaires to assess functional status and self-efficacy. All participants will receive an information session from a cardiac nurse identifying the importance of self-management. They will also be given an action plan and the National Heart Foundation Consumer Resource Guide, which are part of the routine care provided by the Area Health Service. Both the intervention and control groups will receive monthly telephone follow-up for six months. Participants in the intervention group will undertake The Home-Heart-Walk program. This is a self-administered, modified six minute walkexercise activity. Participants will be instructed to undertake the Home-Heart-Walk at least weekly for six months at their own home, using the provided "home kit", that includes a 5-metres long rope, a digital count down timer, a lap counter and a study diary. To undertake the Home-Heart-Walk participants will be instructed to walk alongside the 5-metre rope (marked in 1-metre gradations with the numbers “0-5”) on a flat, hard surface, free of obstacles while trying to cover as much distance as possible in 6 minutes. Stopping and resting will be allowed during the walk. Encouragement will not be used during the walk. Participants will also use the lap counter to count how many full laps they have walked. At the end of the 6 minutes, participants will be asked to record how many full laps they have walked, and at which number they stopped at the end of the walk. This is to allow calculation of the distance walked during the 6 minutes.
Sponsors
Curtin University of Technology
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Hospitalised for heart failure within the previous 6 months. New York Heart Association-Functional Calss II or III
Exclusion criteria
Unstable angina pectoris. Recent unexplained syncope. Failure to give informed consent. Resting heart rate greater than 120. Inability to perform the six minute walk test (6MWT) (e.g. severe arthritis) Significant cognitive impairment.
Outcome results
None listed