Researcher is helping heart disease patients get the treatment they need

Research has found that people with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) should receive the same treatment as those with other heart conditions.

Dr Chris Seenan, a researcher and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physiotherapy and Paramedicine in Glasgow Caledonian’s School of Health and Life Sciences and member of the Ageing Well Research Group in the Research Centre for Health (ReaCH) was a key author in the research paper.

He reviewed and summarised the research around patient education for the condition. The paper, Exercise therapy for chronic symptomatic peripheral artery disease, has been published in the European Heart Journal.

PAD is an incurable and progressive type of cardiovascular disease. The cause of PAD is the narrowing and hardening of arteries of the legs through a process called atherosclerosis.

The main symptom of PAD is pain in the legs when walking which often limits how much physical activity a person with the condition does. This is very important as reduced physical activity is linked to higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke, especially in someone with PAD who already has cardiovascular disease.

Dr Seenan said: “This paper summarises the most recent research and provides clear recommendations of how to set up and deliver exercise programmes for people with peripheral arterial disease and intermittent claudication.

“There are approximately 237 million people with peripheral arterial disease worldwide and exercise is a core element of treatment. Despite exercise being an essential treatment for this condition, there was no international agreement on how this should be provided.

“Experts from across Europe joined together to review the evidence and produce a roadmap for implementing effective exercise rehabilitation and the consensus statement is the outcome of this initiative.

“Healthcare professionals now have a useful summary of the most up-to-date evidence to help them set up and run effective exercise programmes for their patients with vascular disease.

“Hopefully this will lead to patients being more likely to receive effective, evidence-based treatment for their condition. When delivered effectively, exercise increases the distance people can walk and improves quality of life.”