Prenatal Exercise and Cardiovascular Health (PEACH)

NCT02948439 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: Pro00061045
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 64
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Maintenance of a healthy pregnancy depends on an appropriate adaptation and responsiveness of blood vessels, to ensure appropriate blood flow to the fetus during everyday stressors. Previous work by the investigators has demonstrated that during pregnancy, the part of the nervous system responsible for cardiovascular function (the sympathetic nervous system) is hyperactive. The investigators also know that in women who develop high blood pressure during pregnancy that sympathetic nervous system activity is even higher. Yet, very little is known about why this occurs and how this might be affected. Pregnant women are encouraged to be active, yet, less than 15% of women perform sufficient exercise to meet current guidelines. This is important because hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system is observed in other inactive populations and has been linked to adverse cardiovascular health outcomes including hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke. Indeed, in 2011, the American Heart Association stated that inactivity was a risk factor as potent as cigarette smoking for the development of future cardiovascular disease in women. The investigators' work and others have demonstrated that exercise during pregnancy is beneficial for both the mom and baby; however, the effect of prenatal exercise on neurovascular function is not known. If exercise is effective in controlling the increase in sympathetic activity that occurs during pregnancy, or its effects on the cardiovascular system, this may help prevent the development of high blood pressure or other cardiovascular problems during pregnancy.

Conditions

Pregnancy

Keywords

pregnancy; cardiovascular; nervous system; exercise

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Sympathetic Nerve Activity - cold pressor test response

  Response of the sympathetic nervous system to cold pressor test (% change in activity)

  16-20 weeks and 34-36 weeks gestation

Secondary Outcomes (32)

• Respiratory measures - respiratory frequency

  16-20 weeks and 34-36 weeks gestation

• Sympathetic Nerve Activity - breath hold response

  16-20 weeks and 34-36 weeks gestation

• Respiratory measures - tidal volume

  16-20 weeks and 34-36 weeks gestation

• Respiratory measures - oxygen

  16-20 weeks and 34-36 weeks gestation

• Respiratory measures - carbon dioxide

  16-20 weeks and 34-36 weeks gestation

Study Arms (2)

Exercise Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

The aerobic exercise intervention will consist of a walking program at 50-70% of individual heart rate reserve. This will begin at 16-20 weeks gestation and continue 3-4 times per week until the end of the study (34-36 weeks). The duration of exercise will increase each week up to a maximum of 40 minutes (5 min warm up, 25 minutes exercise, 5 min cool down). Women will have at least one supervised exercise session per week. The investigators will also monitor other activity using questionnaires and accelerometry. This will occur at baseline (16-20 weeks), mid-intervention (24-26 weeks) and at the end (34-36 weeks).

Other: Aerobic exercise

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

These women will continue regular daily activities. Activity will be monitored periodically with questionnaires and accelerometry. This will occur at baseline (16-20 weeks), mid-intervention (24-26 weeks) and at the end (34-36 weeks).

Interventions

Aerobic exercise OTHER

Brisk walking 3-4 times per week for up to 40 minutes of activity.

Also known as: walking program

Exercise Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• \>18 years old
• singleton pregnancy
• cleared to exercise by health care provider using Par Med X for Pregnancy (CSEP)

You may not qualify if:

• multiple gestation
• absolute contraindication to exercise (CSEP)
• \<18 years old
• develops any contraindication during intervention

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Alberta: lead

Study Sites (1)

Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, University of Alberta

Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1, Canada

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Boparai R, Skow RJ, Farooq S, Steinback CD, Davenport MH. Prenatal exercise and cardiovascular health (PEACH) study: the remote effect of aerobic exercise training on conduit artery and resistance vessel function. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2021 Dec;46(12):1459-1468. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2020-0902. Epub 2021 Jun 23.

  PMID: 34161737 DERIVED

• Skow RJ, Fraser GM, Steinback CD, Davenport MH. Prenatal Exercise and Cardiovascular Health (PEACH) Study: Impact on Muscle Sympathetic Nerve (Re)Activity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2021 Jun 1;53(6):1101-1113. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002583.

  PMID: 33315812 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neurologic Manifestations; Motor Activity

Interventions

Exercise

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Rachel Skow, MSc

  University of Alberta

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 13, 2016
• First Posted: October 28, 2016
• Study Start: May 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2018
• Study Completion: February 1, 2019
• Last Updated: December 4, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)