Healthy Heart Amputation Rehabilitation Treatment (H.A.R.T)

The overall goal of this line of investigation is to evaluate the efficacy of an integrated cardiovascular amputation rehabilitation program (Healthy Heart Amputation Rehabilitation Therapy (Healthy H.A.R.T.)) that concentrates on secondary CV risk factor modification and utilizes an aggressive exercise program to: 1) increase aerobic capacity and promote rehabilitation achievements and quality of life and 2) prevent postoperative complications and curtail further peripheral vascular deterioration. Given the recognized merits of systematically building upon incremental research achievements to develop comprehensive and multi-faceted clinical programs, we will study the above one step at a time, working up to more wide-scale investigations of the benefits of the integrated Healthy H.A.R.T. program as conceptualized. The following phases are planned:

Part 1 (this proposed 3-year study): examining the clinical effectiveness of Healthy H.A.R.T.'s exercise components. Findings will be disseminated through presentations and publications during and immediately following study completion.

Part 2: revising amputation rehabilitation and P.A.C.T. program care algorithms as indicated by Phase 1 findings.

Part 3: investigating how to implement Healthy H.A.R.T.'s exercise components in distance, off-site, and home-based programs.

Part 4: developing broader scale investigations of additional components of Healthy H.A.R.T. using physiologic and patient care outcome measures, cost-benefit ratios, patient and clinician satisfaction, and service potential offset by resource utilization and expense reports for widespread application.