PHAST-F
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Peripheral arterial disease, High blood pressure and Aneurysm Screening Trial: A Feasibility study to evaluate acceptability, uptake and effect of combined peripheral arterial disease, high blood pressure and abdominal aortic aneurysm screening.
IRAS ID
299928
Contact name
Matthew J Bown
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
7 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a swelling of the main blood vessel in the abdomen. If the swelling gets too large the aorta can burst which is usually fatal. To prevent this, AAA can be repaired with surgery, usually when the size of the AAA is more than 5.5cm in diameter because below this size, the risk of it bursting is lower than that of surgery. AAAs are usually asymptomatic before rupture but can be diagnosed using ultrasound scanning. People with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) (furred up blood vessels in the legs) and high blood pressure (BP) are at high risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular problems. 30 to 40 % of people over the age of 65 have PAD and/or high BP, with at least one third not knowing why they have these problems.
Men are invited for a scan when they are 65 to check for an AAA, with eight out of ten men attending. This programme represents an opportunity to identify and treat men with PAD and/or high BP. Women are not invited for AAA screening because they rarely get AAAs, screening women will therefore require a different approach.
The primary aim is to assess the feasibility of adding PAD+BP screening to AAA screening by assessing screening attendance. A process evaluation will aim to explain how the intervention works. PHAST-F will also help plan the delivery of and evaluate the main trial.
Men will be interviewed to discover what they think of the new screening and how their results might change their behaviour. Women will be included to find out if they would benefit from PAD and BP screening. This information will be used to identify a way to run a screening programme for women and apply for research funds to test this screening.REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
21/NS/0147
Date of REC Opinion
9 Dec 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion