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An Evaluation of the Talk Test for Exercise Prescription for Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Coronary Artery Disease
Interventions
Behavioral: Talk test prescription
Behavioral: CPET prescription
Registration Number
NCT05157932
Lead Sponsor
Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation
Brief Summary

The objectives of this pilot RCT are to examine if the Talk Test is an effective and safe tool as compared with CPET for exercise prescription in patients who have undergone CABG or PCI and enrolled in a home-based CR program with virtual exercise training monitoring.

Detailed Description

The Talk Test has been shown to be a valid, practical and inexpensive tool for guiding exercise training in patients with CAD. The general premise of the Talk Test is that exercising at or above the ventilatory threshold or lactate threshold does not allow comfortable, conversational speech and thus serves as a means of estimating the cut point between moderate and vigorous intensity exercise. The Talk Test can be used to produce exercise intensities (64 to 95% HR peak i.e. moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise) within accepted Canadian Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (CACPR) guidelines for exercise training, to avoid exertional ischemia, and has been shown to be consistent across various modes of exercise (i.e. walking, jogging, cycling, elliptical trainer and stair stepper).

There is a critical need to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of using the Talk Test as the principal method of exercise prescription in patients with CAD who have undergone CABG or PCI when compared to standard care CPET. Such a trial has wide-scale appeal for CR programs across Canada and beyond. It will directly and positively impact patient care by reducing the need for in-person interactions for CPET, of paramount importance during COVID-19 outbreaks, between patients and CR staff, thus reducing COVID-19 infection risk and concerns of contracting the virus.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
40
Inclusion Criteria
  • recently underwent PCI or CABG (at least 4 weeks but less than 12 weeks post-event or procedure);
  • able to perform a CPET;
  • at least 40 years of age;
  • access to MyChart; and,
  • access to email and the internet
  • access to a cellphone with broadband internet (4G, LTE, 5G).
Exclusion Criteria
  • currently participating in a virtual or on-site CR program;
  • ventricular ejection fraction ≤45%;
  • unstable angina or established diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, severe mitral or aortic stenosis, or hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy;
  • unable to return for 12-week follow-up visits.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Talk TestTalk test prescriptionVirtual Cardiac Rehab + Exercise prescription based on the Talk test.
Cardiopulmonary Exercise TestCPET prescriptionVirtual Cardiac Rehab + Exercise prescription based on the CPET results.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Exercise capacityfrom baseline to follow-up at week 12

will be measured by the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Cardiovascular health indicators - Plasma glucose averagefrom baseline to follow-up at week 12

will be measured using the glycated hemoglobin A1C (%) test

Cardiovascular health indicators - Cholesterol LDLfrom baseline to follow-up at week 12

will be measured low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Cardiovascular health indicators - Cholesterol HDLfrom baseline to follow-up at week 12

will be measured high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Cardiovascular health indicators - Plasma glucosefrom baseline to follow-up at week 12

will be measured by fasting plasma glucose (mmol/L) test

Cardiovascular health indicators - Lipid profilefrom baseline to follow-up at week 12

will be measured using the triglycerides test

Cardiac Rehab safetyfrom baseline to follow-up at week 12

meticulously track all mild, moderate, and severe symptoms and adverse events throughout this study. Symptoms may include tightness in chest, leg tightness/pain, dizziness, lightheaded, foot cramping, and heart palpitations.

VO2peakat baseline

will be measured using a gold standard symptom-limited CPET on an electronically braked cycle ergometer (alternatively it will be administered on a treadmill or another aerobic equipment). Gas exchange (VO2 in mL/kg/min) and heart rate will be monitored continuously. The highest 20-s interval average of VO2 and HR will be considered the peak VO2 and HR values.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Ottawa Heart Institute

🇨🇦

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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