The Effect of Exercise Training on Mental Stress-Induced Silent Ischemia

January 20, 2009 updated by: US Department of Veterans Affairs
Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of death in the elderly. Silent myocardial ischemia (SI) is a manifestation of CAD in which there is a transient alteration in myocardial perfusion, function, and/or electrical activity not accompanied by chest pain. Mental and emotional stress, in particular hostility and anger are potent inducers of SI, Individuals with SI are at a 3-5 fold higher risk for the development of angina, myocardial infarction and death than subjects without SI.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The hypothesis of this study is that older individuals with occult cad, mental stress/ emotional arousal (anger) increases sympathetic nervous system activity resulting in vasoconstriction thereby eliciting transient episodes of SI. Therefore an aerobic exercise intervention that reduces the response to anger/hostility and improves vascular compliance will decrease the ischemic burden in SI patients. The specific objectives are: To determine if non-smoking older individuals with exercise-induced SI have increased vasoreactivity (blood pressure, heart rate) responses to the laboratory presentation of mental stressors, decreased vascular compliance and brachial artery endothelial reactivity compared to matched non-ischemic controls; 2) To perform a randomized clinical trial that will examine the effects of 9 months of aerobic exercise training versus usual care on vasoreactivity, vascular compliance and ischemic burden on Holter monitor. Older individuals without a history of overt CAD will be recruited and evaluated for the presence of exercise-induced SI. Baseline cross-sectional comparisons of vasoreactivity and cardiovascular function will be performed between those with SI and non-ischemic controls. The individuals with SI will be enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of exercise vs usual care. Exercise treadmill testing with measurement of maximal aerobic capacity will be used to determine fitness. Vasoactivity will be quantified during a mental stress test with real time 2d echo imaging. Vascular function will be assessed using high frequency ultrasound measurements of flow-mediated brachial artery endothelial reactivity.

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21201
        • VA Maryland Health Care System

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Older individuals without a history of overt CAD.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Allocation: Randomized

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 1997

Study Completion

March 1, 2000

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 3, 2001

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 4, 2001

First Posted (Estimate)

July 5, 2001

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 21, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 20, 2009

Last Verified

June 1, 2001

More Information

Terms related to this study

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Myocardial Ischemia

Clinical Trials on exercise

3
Subscribe