A Mobile Health Intervention in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Study Purpose

This study proposes the use of a mobile health intervention (utilizing a smart phone app) to encourage increased exercise in PAH patients. The study will be a randomized trial to examine feasibility of an mHealth (mobile device) Fitbit Charge HR and cell phone application intervention to improve step counts and increase participants activity level as compared to no intervention. The Fitbit Charge Heart Rate (HR) monitors activity and the cell phone application provides encouragement notifications to half the subjects while the other half do not receive encouragements.

Recruitment Criteria

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Healthy volunteers are participants who do not have a disease or condition, or related conditions or symptoms

No
Study Type

An interventional clinical study is where participants are assigned to receive one or more interventions (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes.


An observational clinical study is where participants identified as belonging to study groups are assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.


Searching Both is inclusive of interventional and observational studies.

Interventional
Eligible Ages 18 Years and Over
Gender All
More Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Aged 18 or older. 2. Diagnosed with idiopathic, heritable, or associated (connective tissue disease, drugs, or toxins) pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) according to World Health Organization consensus recommendations. 3. Stable PAH-specific medication regimen for three months prior to enrollment. Subjects with only a single diuretic adjustment in the prior three months will be included. 4. Subjects must own a Bluetooth capable modern smartphone capable of receiving and sending text messages and an active data plan.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Prohibited from normal activity due to wheelchair bound status, bed bound status, reliance on a cane/walker, activity-limiting angina, activity-limiting osteoarthritis, or other condition. 2. Pregnancy. 3. Diagnosis of PAH etiology other than idiopathic, heritable, or associated. 4. Forced vital capacity <70% predicted. 5. Functional class IV heart failure. 6. Requirement of > 1 diuretic adjustment in the prior three months. 7. Preferred form of activity is not measured by an activity tracker (swimming, yoga, ice skating, stair master, or activities on wheels such as bicycling or rollerblading).

Trial Details

Trial ID:

This trial id was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, providing information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants with locations in all 50 States and in 196 countries.

NCT03069716
Phase

Phase 1: Studies that emphasize safety and how the drug is metabolized and excreted in humans.

Phase 2: Studies that gather preliminary data on effectiveness (whether the drug works in people who have a certain disease or condition) and additional safety data.

Phase 3: Studies that gather more information about safety and effectiveness by studying different populations and different dosages and by using the drug in combination with other drugs.

Phase 4: Studies occurring after FDA has approved a drug for marketing, efficacy, or optimal use.

N/A
Lead Sponsor

The sponsor is the organization or person who oversees the clinical study and is responsible for analyzing the study data.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Principal Investigator

The person who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the entire clinical study.

Evan Brittain, MD, MSc
Principal Investigator Affiliation Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Agency Class

Category of organization(s) involved as sponsor (and collaborator) supporting the trial.

Other
Overall Status Active, not recruiting
Countries United States
Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied.

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, Heritable Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Additional Details

Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have severely reduced exercise capacity and reduced quality of life. At diagnosis, most PAH patients are New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III with symptoms of fatigue and shortness of breath with less than ordinary activity. Physical activity confers multiple benefits relevant to PAH pathophysiology including improvements in endothelial function, energy metabolism, and right ventricular (RV) function. Increasing physical activity is highly efficacious in PAH, resulting in six-minute walk distance (6MWD) improvement that exceeds the effect of medications. The goal of this proposal is to adapt and test the feasibility of our mHealth intervention to increase physical activity in a geographically diverse PAH population. In secondary aims, we will assess conventional PAH trial outcomes (6MWD, quality of life) and physiologic mechanisms by which increasing activity may improve exercise capacity. The investigator hypothesizes that an mHealth intervention is feasible and will increase physical activity in subjects with PAH. This study proposes a randomized trial of unblinded step tracking with smart texts tracking for 12 weeks. Participants will wear a display-free triaxial accelerometer, which will continuously transmit data to a compatible smartphone (owned by 75% of our PAH population). Efficacy endpoints have been selected to mirror FDA criteria for drug approval in PAH. The following aims will be tested: Aim 1: To test the feasibility of an mHealth intervention to increase step counts in patients with PAH. Fifty PAH patients will be randomized to the mHealth intervention or usual activity for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint will be daily step count during Week 12. Secondary endpoints will assess step target achievement, daily activity time, and aerobic time. The fidelity of data collection and text transmission will also be assessed. Aim 2: To examine the effect of an mHealth intervention on exercise capacity and quality of life. Participants will complete a six minute walk test and the emPHasis-10 questionnaire at baseline and 12 weeks. The primary endpoint will be six minute walk distance. Secondary endpoints will be emPHasis-10 quality of life scale score, Borg dyspnea score, and resting heart rate. Aim 3: To examine the effect of an mHealth intervention on mechanisms of improved exercise capacity. Subjects will undergo echocardiography, blood draw, and body composition assessment. The primary endpoint will be RV longitudinal strain. Secondary endpoints will be the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, lean muscle and fat mass, and B-type natriuretic peptide.

Arms & Interventions

Arms

Experimental: Smartphone Text Messaging

Group receives personalized, health coaching via "smart" text messages.

Other: No Smartphone Text Messaging

Group does not receive personalized, health coaching via "smart" text messages.

Interventions

Device: - Smartphone Text Messaging

A HIPPA compliant text messaging platform is linked to the Fitbit Application Program Interface. Real time activity data will be transmitted from the subject's smartphone to our mHealth platform via cellular network. Subjects will receive 3 texts/day in sync with their preferred morning, lunch, and evening leisure schedule (defined at enrollment). These texts will use personal, disease-specific, and provider information to deliver 2 types of messages customized to the current step count and sent in equal proportion. Messages are designed to facilitate self-awareness, reinforce step targets, and link physical activity with a reward or memorable cue.

Device: - Fitbit Charge HR

The Fitbit Charge HR tri-axial accelerometer will be used to continuously gather data on physical activity, heart rate, and sleep. This device provides feedback in units of activity (steps, stairs climbed, activity time, and exercise time) and heart rate (per second when active, per 5 seconds when inactive). It has been validated against research devices in free-living conditions and is relatively inexpensive.

Contact a Trial Team

If you are interested in learning more about this trial, find the trial site nearest to your location and contact the site coordinator via email or phone. We also strongly recommend that you consult with your healthcare provider about the trials that may interest you and refer to our terms of service below.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee

Status

Address

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Nashville, Tennessee, 37232

For more information, please contact PHA at Research@PHAssociation.org and refer to the terms of service below.

Submit Feedback

The content provided on clinical trials is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical consultation with your healthcare provider. We do not recommend or endorse any specific study and you are advised to discuss the information shown with your healthcare provider. While we believe the information presented on this website to be accurate at the time of writing, we do not guarantee that its contents are correct, complete, or applicable to any particular individual situation. We strongly encourage individuals to seek out appropriate medical advice and treatment from their physicians. We cannot guarantee the availability of any clinical trial listed and will not be responsible if you are considered ineligible to participate in a given clinical trial. We are also not liable for any injury arising as a result of participation in a clinical trial or study.