More than 300,000 surgical or endovascular lower extremity revascularization procedures are performed annually for Medicare beneficiaries who have lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) without limb threatening ischemia, and rates of these procedures are increasing. In these patients, revascularization typically improves, but does not eliminate, PAD related walking impairment. Lower extremity revascularization combined with supervised exercise significantly improves walking performance compared to revascularization alone in people who have PAD without limb threatening ischemia. However, supervised exercise is inaccessible or burdensome for most PAD patients. Investigators hypothesize that home-based exercise combined with lower extremity revascularization will significantly improve walking performance compared to revascularization alone in patients with PAD undergoing revascularization for disabling PAD.
Investigators further hypothesize that inorganic nitrate, a major source of nitric oxide (NO) abundant in beetroot juice, will improve walking performance after lower extremity revascularization, compared to placebo. In preclinical models, NO inhibits inflammation, neointimal hyperplasia, thrombosis, and vascular smooth muscle cell migration at sites of revascularization. NO increases angiogenesis and perfusion, repairs skeletal muscle damaged by ischemia, and stimulates mitochondrial activity. A large body of evidence, assembled over more than 25 years, supports our hypothesis that inorganic nitrate (such as that in nitrate-rich beetroot juice) will improve walking performance and other lower extremity outcomes after lower extremity revascularization.
Effective, accessible, and safe therapies are needed to enhance the benefits and improve durability of lower extremity revascularization. Therefore, in a randomized clinical trial with a 2 x 2 factorial design, the trial will test the following two primary hypotheses in 386 patients randomized within three months of a successful lower extremity revascularization for disabling PAD: First, that home-based exercise combined with lower extremity revascularization will improve six-minute walk distance more than revascularization alone at 6-month follow-up (Primary Aim #1). Second, that nitrate-rich beetroot juice combined with lower extremity revascularization will improve six-minute walk, compared to placebo combined with revascularization at 6-month follow-up (Primary Aim #2). In Secondary Aims, the trial will establish whether home-based exercise, compared to control, and whether nitrate-rich beetroot juice, compared to placebo, improve the Walking Impairment Questionnaire and the PROMIS Mobility Questionnaire and prevent hemodynamic failure of the revascularized vessel. In exploratory aims, the trial will test the effects of the interventions on plasma nitric oxide bioavailability. If our hypotheses are correct, results of this trial will have a major impact on improving mobility in the large and growing number of people undergoing revascularization for disabling PAD.
