Effects of arm-crank exercise on cardiovascular function, functional capacity, cognition and quality of life in patients with peripheral artery disease: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

• Published in: PloS one 2022-05, Vol.17 (5), p.e0267849-e0267849
• Main Authors: Kanegusuku, Hélcio, Correia, Marília Almeida, Longano, Paulo, Ritti-Dias, Raphael Mendes, Wolosker, Nelson, Cucato, Gabriel Grizzo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arm; Biology and Life Sciences; Blood pressure; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular system; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Data collection; Einstein, Albert (1879-1955); Ethics; Executive function; Exercise; Exercise Therapy - methods; Exercise Tolerance - physiology; Fitness equipment; Fitness training programs; Hand Strength; Health aspects; Heart rate; Hormone replacement therapy; Hospitals; Humans; Intermittent claudication; Intermittent Claudication - diagnosis; Kinesiology; Medicine and Health Sciences; Pain; Participation; Patients; Peripheral Arterial Disease - diagnosis; Peripheral vascular diseases; Physical fitness; Physical Sciences; Physical training; Physiological aspects; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Regulatory mechanisms (biology); Signs and symptoms; Single-Blind Method; Stiffness; Study Protocol; Training; Values; Vascular diseases; Vein & artery diseases; Walking; Walking - physiology
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267849

Arm-crank exercise training (ACT) is an alternative exercise strategy for patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) due to the attenuation of pain symptoms during the exercise, as well as the benefits to functional capacity. The aim of this study is to describe the study protocol to analyze the effects of ACT exercise on cardiovascular function, functional capacity, cognition and quality of life in patients with symptomatic PAD. This is a three-armed randomized, prospective, single-blind data collection, single-center, controlled study enrolling 45 patients with symptomatic PAD who will be randomized into 3 intervention groups: walking training (WT), ACT and control group. The WT and ACT will perform 2 sessions/week, 15 to 10 sets of 2 to 5 minutes at values of 13 to 15 on the Borg scale. Before and after 12 weeks of intervention, cardiovascular function (ambulatory blood pressure, office blood pressure, central blood pressure, heart rate variability, arterial stiffness and vascular function), functional capacity (six-minute walk test, 2 minute step test, handgrip test, Walking impairment questionnaire, Walking estimated limitation calculated by history, Baltimore activity scale for intermittent claudication, and short physical performance battery), cognition (executive function and memory), and quality of life (vascular quality of life questionnaire and World Health Organization Quality of Life) will be assessed. This is the first trial to evaluate the effects of ACT on regulatory mechanisms of the cardiovascular system in PAD patients. If the results are as expected, they will provide evidence the ability of ACT to promote cardiovascular benefits in the symptomatic PAD population.