Passive Heat Therapy for COPD (COPD Trial)

N/A

Recruiting

Led By Neil Eves, PhD

Research Sponsored by University of British Columbia

Eligibility Criteria Checklist

Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial

Must have

Be older than 18 years old

Timeline

Screening 3 weeks

Treatment Varies

Follow Up during procedure: 60-minutes

Summary

This trial tests if hot-water footbaths can help people w/ COPD improve their heart health & reduce blood pressure, by increasing leg blood-flow.

Who is the study for?

This trial is for people over 40 with moderate-to-severe COPD who haven't smoked recently and have been stable for at least 6 weeks. It's not for those on Beta Blockers, in exercise programs, with advanced heart or brain vessel disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure, very low blood pressure, or those frequently using hot baths or saunas.

What is being tested?

The study tests if Passive Heat Therapy (45-minute hot-water footbaths) can improve leg blood-flow and reduce heart disease risk in COPD patients. Over six weeks, the effects of regular footbaths are compared to Sham Immersion (a fake treatment) to see if there are benefits similar to exercising.

What are the potential side effects?

Potential side effects may include discomfort from heat exposure such as sweating or dizziness during the footbath sessions. Long-term side effects are unknown but could involve changes in blood pressure.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks3 visits

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~ during procedure: 60-minutes

Screening ~ 3 weeks

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~during procedure: 60-minutes

This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and during procedure: 60-minutes for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.

Primary study objectives

Mean 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure following chronic passive heat therapy

Secondary study objectives

Arterial stiffness following chronic passive heat therapy

Exercise tolerance following chronic passive heat therapy

Flow mediated dilation of the superficial femoral artery following chronic passive heat therapy.

+2 more

Other study objectives

The acute change in exercise tolerance following a single bout of PHT vs. the change with sham treatment

Trial Design

2Treatment groups

Experimental Treatment

Placebo Group

Group I: Passive Heat TherapyExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

Patients with COPD assigned to passive heat therapy will have their lower legs immersed in a circulating hot water (\~42°C) footbath for 45 min per session.

Group II: Sham ImmersionPlacebo Group1 Intervention

Patients with COPD assigned to the sham condition will have their lower legs immersed in a circulating thermoneutral (\~36°C) footbath for 45 min per session.

Do I qualify?Apply below to find out