An evaluation of the BHF’s exercise DVD in cardiac rehabilitation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An evaluation of the British Heart Foundation’s ’Active Heart, Healthy Heart’ DVD as an adjunct to standard, centre-based cardiac rehabilitation.
IRAS ID
207871
Contact name
Mike Morris
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Chester
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 30 days
Research summary
With a strong evidence base for physical activity (PA) as a core component of cardiac rehabilitation (CR), adopting a menu-based approach that delivers an effective dose which results in an improvement in aerobic capacity (AC) is fundamental (BACPR, 2012). Research has shown for every one metabolic equivalent (MET) increase in AC, premature mortality reduces by 8 to 17% (ACPICR, 2015). Taylor et al. (2015) have shown that home and centre-based CR are equally effective in improving AC. However, the few studies that have investigated the effectiveness of a home-based exercise DVD in CR patients have produced conflicting results (Cowie, Thow, Granat & Mitchell, 2012; Scalvini et al. 2013; Wang et al. 2015). This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) ‘Active Heart, Healthy Heart’ DVD as an adjunct to standard, centre-based CR; with the primary endpoint being AC (METs).\nDue to an absence of comparable research, this will be an exploratory research project. Forty low to moderate risk (AACVPR, 2013) CR patients that meet the eligibility criteria (A17-1), referred to Livewell Southwest’s phase III CR programmes will be recruited. Following written consent, twenty participants will be allocated to the intervention group who will be prescribed the BHF DVD in addition to usual care. Following the completion of the 6-week supervised centre-based programme they will continue to follow the DVD for a further 6-weeks and twenty participants will then be allocated to the control group. The control group will complete the 6-week supervised programme and follow conventional long-term management advice for a further 6-weeks. Participants prescribed the exercise DVD will be provided with a BHF log book and the control group will complete a PA diary. The primary endpoint will be assessed using the Chester step test. The secondary endpoints will include blood pressure, heart rate, waist circumference, weight, body mass index, anxiety, depression and quality of life. Data will be collected at baseline, 6-weeks and 12-weeks by an Exercise Physiologist and Cardiac Specialist Nurse. An additional final endpoint will be adherence. All statistical analysis will be performed using SPSS version 22. Statistical significance will be set at p <.05.
REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SW/0290
Date of REC Opinion
7 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion