EChO - Version 9
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exercise in patients with a total Coronary Occlusion (EChO)
IRAS ID
247135
Contact name
Angela Hoye
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Hull University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
A coronary chronic total occlusion refers to the long term complete blockage of a blood vessel supplying the heart. Exercise is beneficial for patients with heart problems including people with narrowed blood vessels. However, exercise has not previously been tested in patients with a completely blocked blood vessel. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate exercise testing in participants with a coronary chronic total occlusion, and to see if the physiological changes that occur are reproducible when participants are retested. Secondly, the study will see if sustained exercise is safe in this population.
Participants will make 3 visits to our Laboratory. During the first two visits they will complete symptom limited exercise tests using a stationary bike for approximately 8-12 minutes. The bikes` resistance will gradually increase until participants choose to stop or the researcher ends the test. Participants will wear a mask that collects exhaled breath for testing, and will be connected to an electrocardiogram (heart trace monitor) and blood pressure cuff for monitoring throughout the test. During visits one and three patients will also have blood taken pre and post exercise.
Researchers will analyse how the amount of oxygen consumed with increasing exercise relates to the participants heart rate. A plateau in these measures would indicate a change in the hearts blood supply resulting in reduced function.
The participants third visit will involve cycling under the same conditions as their earlier visits. However, during this test participants will be asked to cycle continuously for 20 minutes at a resistance set by the researchers. This level of resistance is determined from the first tests from the point at which changes in blood flow and heart function occurred. In the last five minutes of the test patients will have an echocardiogram (heart scan), to look at the heart function.Summary of Results
This research project beginning in June of 2019 set out to recruit n=12 participants diagnosed as having a chronic total coronary occlusion. After 12 months of recruitment a total of n=4 participants had enrolled, of this number only n=1 completed all three planned data collection sessions. This study was undertaken as part of a PhD scholarship that began in October 2017 and was supposed to end in 2020. The study recruitment rate was not as anticipated and was even further impacted during the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, the research project was terminated and is now being written into a thesis chapter, but will not, in all likelihood be published as a scientific journal article.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/YH/0360
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jan 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion