Passive Heat Therapy for People With COPD
Recruiting now NCT05962164
Run by University of British Columbia · for 40 and older · All sexes
What this study is about
People with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) often develop high blood pressure and heart disease due to their sedentary lifestyle and difficulty exercising. The investigators will test if heating can mimic the health benefits of exercise by monitoring the increase in leg blood-flow using ultrasound during a 45-minute hot-water footbath. The patients will then undergo 6-weeks of hot-water footbaths to examine whether the changes to blood-flow lead to improvements in blood pressure and other indicators of heart disease risk.
Who can join (things the study team will check)
✅ You may be able to join if…
- Non-smoking individuals
- >40 years of age
- Stable (exacerbation free for >6 weeks), moderate-to-severe COPD (post bronchodilator FEV1/FVC <lower limit of normal and FEV1 z-score <2.51)
🚫 You may not be able to join if…
- Performing structured exercise training (i.e. pulmonary rehabilitation)
- Have advanced cardiac or cerebrovascular disease (i.e. a history of heart failure, previous stroke or myocardial infarction)
- Have uncontrolled hypertension (>160/95 mmHg at rest)
- Have hypotension (<110/60 mmHg)
- Are taking Beta Blockers
- Regularly (>1/week) have hot baths (>30 min) or use a hot tub or sauna.
🚫 You may not be able to join if…
- Have resting blood pressure > 150/95 mmHg
- On supplemental oxygen for hypoxemia.
- Musculoskeletal pain that limits their ability to perform stationary cycling.
Where this trial is running
- University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Who to contact
Neil Eves, PhD · (250) 807-9676 · neil.eves@ubc.ca
It's completely normal to call and ask questions before deciding anything. Mention the study ID: NCT05962164.
Verify everything on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Page updated July 2026.