Using Smartphone Sensor Technology to Characterize Ambulatory Patterns of Participants With Peripheral Artery Disease

Using Smartphone Sensor Technology to Characterize Ambulatory Patterns of Participants With Peripheral Artery Disease

The investigators plan to use smartphone and wearable sensor technology to characterize the activity patterns of participants with peripheral artery disease (PAD) (n=24) participating in a 12-week supervised exercise training (SET) program, and incorporate the resulting data into a web-based dashboard for participants and study staff.

Participants in the proposed study will be current clinical participants in the SET program within Fairview. Participants will have a diagnosis of PAD and be ≥40 years of age (participants are diagnosed before they are referred to the SET program). Rate limiting comorbidities not associated with vascular disease (e.g., severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) will be exclusionary (for example). Age, sex, race, ethnicity, educational status, and smoking status at baseline will be recorded from cardiac rehabilitation intake forms. Eligible participants will be identified by study staff reviewing electronic medical records of patients who are enrolling into the SET program. University of Minnesota staff will travel to the urban and rural clinical rehabilitation sites to obtain informed consent at the participants first SET visit. They will then provide participants instructions and training for how to use the smartphone and app.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of atherosclerotic PAD and referred to hospital-based SET
• Ability to complete an evaluation of physical function and walk on a treadmill
• Resting ankle-brachial index (ABI) of ≤0.90 or stenosis ≥50% in a peripheral vessel or those with lifestyle limiting vascular-related claudication
• Those with a resting ABI of 0.91-0.99 (borderline) who have completed an exercise-ABI assessment with a >20% drop compared to resting values
• Those with ABI >1.40 who have had an abnormal toe-brachial index of ≤0.70

Exclusion Criteria:

• Lower extremity amputation(s) which interfere(s) with walking on the treadmill.
• Individuals with critical limb ischemia defined by ischemic rest pain or ischemic ulcers/gangrene on the lower extremities
• PAD of non-atherosclerotic nature (e.g., fibromuscular dysplasia, irradiation, endofibrosis)
• Females who are pregnant
• Coronary artery bypass grafts or major surgical procedures within 6 months prior to screening
• Individuals whose walking exercise is primarily limited by symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, angina, or heart failure
• Individuals who have had a myocardial infarction within 3 months prior to screening
• Individuals who have had a transient ischemic attack or stroke 3 months prior to screening
• Individuals with uncontrolled hypertension (≥180 systolic or ≥100 diastolic resting blood pressure) during screening
• Poorly controlled diabetes defined as glycated hemoglobin >12%
• Abnormal results of blood work not conducive to safely participating in an exercise trial (e.g., anemic, electrolyte abnormalities)
• Inability to speak English
• Other clinically significant cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, endocrine, hepatic, neurological, psychiatric, immunological, gastrointestinal, hematological, or metabolic disease that is, in the opinion of the study team, not stabilized or may otherwise confound the results of the study