<p>Lower
extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an increasingly prevalent manifestation
of atherosclerosis that substantially limits mobility and increases mortality.
Few options currently exists for practical conservative treatment of
individuals with PAD. We have previously demonstrated that lower limb heat
therapy (HT) can improve leg blood flow and reduce systolic blood pressure in
patient with lower extremity PAD. Using three unique clinical trials, we sought
to test the hypothesis that repeated exposure to HT would improve walking
tolerance and vascular function in patients with lower extremity PAD. In these trials, we have sought to examine
the clinical efficacy of HT, the physiological mechanisms which may underpin
changes in walking endurance in this population, and also the practicality of
employing HT in a home-based setting. The primary finding from these trials was
that daily application of leg HT improved walking endurance in patients with
lower-extremity PAD. Furthermore, the treatment adherence rate was excellent
(<96%) and was not associated with severe adverse events. The changes in
walking tolerance were consistently not associated with positive changes in
vascular function, suggesting an alternative mechanism should be examined in
future studies. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/15029628 |
| Date | 21 July 2021 |
| Creators | Jacob Monroe (11166657) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Leg_Heat_Therapy_to_Improve_Walking_Tolerance_and_Vascular_Function_in_Patients_with_Symptomatic_Peripheral_Artery_Disease/15029628 |
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