Intradialytic Exercise With Blood Flow Restriction in Hemodialysis Patients

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Chronic phase - HDEX/HDBFRE: 30 min of intradialytic cycling at a moderate intensity (12-14) , starting 30min after HD onset. 3 times a week for 12 weeks. No vascular occlusion for HDEXChro. Pressure at 50% of limb occlusion pressure on both legs for HDBFREChro

Acute phase - HDEX/HDBFRE: 30 min of intradialytic cycling at a moderate intensity (12-14) , starting 30min after HD onset. No vascular occlusion for HDEXacute. Pressure at 50% of limb occlusion pressure on both legs for HDBFREacute

Study summary

The main objective is to evaluate in hemodialysis patients the effects of two intradialytic rehabilitation programs based on physical exercise, with or without the application of blood flow restriction, on myocardial stunning and morpho-functional cardiac remodelling, compared with usual care (i.e., dialysis without exercise). In addition, the investigators will also assess the acute effects (i.e., a single session for each condition) of physical exercise, with or without blood flow restriction, on myocardial stunning at the end of dialysis.

In comparison with a conventional exercise program, the combination of physical exercise with blood flow restriction, which synergistically and additively activates intramuscular signalling pathways related to both exercise and ischaemia, is hypothesised to result in:

1. A greater intradialytic cardioprotection, as demonstrated by a greater reduction in myocardial stunning at the end of dialysis (both in acute and chronic applications), with underlying mechanisms involving systemic and neuro-humoral pathways;
2. Significant improvements in morpho-functional cardiac remodelling, attenuation of arrhythmic disturbances, and enhancement of aerobic capacity, muscle strength, and muscle mass-effects not observed with exercise alone without blood flow restriction, considering the low exercise intensity used in the current rehabilitation program (chronic application only).

This is a three-arm randomised clinical trial with parallel groups: standard hemodialysis (HD-CONTChro), a rehabilitation program with intradialytic exercise without vascular occlusion (HD-EXChro), and a rehabilitation program with intradialytic exercise with vascular occlusion (HD-BFREChro), with a 1:1:1 allocation ratio.

To investigate the acute effects of the interventions, all patients will undergo, in a randomized order, one session of each of the three dialysis modalities-standard hemodialysis (HD-CONTacute), hemodialysis with exercise without vascular restriction (HD-EXacute), and hemodialysis with exercise with vascular restriction (HD-BFREacute)-prior to initiation of the chronic phase of the study.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Change in the number of regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMAs) — From enrollment to the end of the program at 19 weeks
  The investigators will use echocardiography to assess the number of left ventricular myocardial segments (using a 18-segment model), that demonstrate a reduction in longitudinal deformation greater than 20% at peak stress during hemodialysis, relative to baseline measurements obtained at the start of the dialysis session. Their aim is to compare the change in regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMAs) at peak stress of dialysis (i.e. 30 min before its end), in a standard HD, before and after 12 weeks of program (for HD-EXChro and HD-BFREChro) or usual care (for HD-CONTChro). For the acute phase, the investigators will compare the number of RWMAs measured 30min before the end of each HD session between the 3 conditions (i.e. HD-CONTacute, HD-EXacute, HD-BFREacute)

Trial sites (2)

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