Comparing the Efficacy of Cardiac Rehabilitation for Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease to Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

Exercise is commonly recommended as a treatment for patients who present with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Although a great deal of research has supported the efficacy of exercise rehabilitation for PAD, it is infrequently implemented into clinical practices.To date, no comparison of cardiac rehabilitation efficacy and acute exercise responses has been made between patients with PAD and patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Considering some of the parallels between the two conditions, as they are both atherosclerotic conditions, and the strong recommendations for exercise in both populations, it is worthwhile to compare the efficacy of cardiac rehabilitation responses. It is also unclear if the magnitude of response for PAD patients is dependent on biological sex and clinical presentation as this may influence the development of exercise prescriptions. This study will be a prospective two-arm cohort study with both groups (CAD and PAD) undergoing the same intervention (standard 6 month out-patient cardiac rehabilitation program offered at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Rumsey Centre). The primary variable of interest will be peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) with a secondary variable of interest being functional capacity, as measured by the 6-minute walk test. Tertiary variables of interest will include walking impairment, as measured by the Walking Impairment Questionnaire, and quality of life, as measured by the Short Form-36 health survey (SF-36).The second objective of this study is to determine if the magnitude of responses to cardiac rehabilitation for patients with PAD are dependent on biological sex or type of PAD (asymptomatic, post-surgical intervention, or intermittent claudication).Exploratory objectives include comparing acute exercise responses (prescribed exercise training load, actual training load, exercising heart rate and rating of perceived exertion) between PAD and CAD patients.