NCT03832504

Identifying Strategies to Alleviate Cardiovascular Stress in Coronary Patients During Heatwaves

Identifying Optimal Cooling Strategies for Coronary Artery Disease Patients During Heatwaves

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 27 (actual)
• Sponsor: Montreal Heart Institute · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 50 Years – 80 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the optimal cooling strategies to alleviate cardiovascular strain of coronary artery disease individuals during a simulated North American and Australian heatwave.

Detailed description

Globally, heatwaves are occurring more frequently, are of greater intensity and longer in duration. The devastating health impacts of extreme heat are increasingly recognized, particularly in vulnerable populations, such as adults with coronary artery disease (CAD). While the most effective cooling strategy during a heatwave is the use of air conditioning (AC), economical concerns can limit AC use among vulnerable populations. In addition, widespread AC use places a significant burden on the electrical grid, causing brown-outs and black-outs during periods of extreme heat. Electric fans offer a cooling strategy with a 50-fold lower power requirement and cost compared to AC. However, the efficacy of fan use during heat waves remains contentious. The primary objective of this study is to identify the optimal cooling strategy to alleviate cardiovascular strain of CAD patients exposed to typical North American heatwave conditions (38°C with 60% relative humidity). The secondary objective is to identify the optimal cooling strategy to alleviate cardiovascular strain of CAD patients exposed to typical Australian heatwave conditions (46°C with 10% relative humidity).

Conditions

• Coronary Artery Disease

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	No intervention	The participant will rest in a seated position.
OTHER	Fan	A fan placed in front of the participant will provide an airflow of 4 m/s throughout the exposure.
OTHER	Skin Wetting	Tap water (\~18°C) will be applied every 5 minutes to the face, neck, upper and lower arms and upper and lower legs using a spray bottle.
OTHER	Fan + Skin wetting	A fan placed in front of the participant will provide an airflow of 4 m/s throughout the exposure. In addition, tap water (\~18°C) will be applied every 5 minutes to the face, neck, upper and lower arms and upper and lower legs using a spray bottle.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-02-18
• Primary completion: 2021-06-23
• Completion: 2021-06-23
• First posted: 2019-02-06
• Last updated: 2023-08-01

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada