The call is out for Bundaberg men to take part in The Dyspnea Challenge – a test designed specifically to assess breathlessness during activity and exercise.
CQUniversity researcher and Physiotherapy Lecturer (Cardiorespiratory) Tanya Palmer is needing participants to take part in her study.
The CQU study will assist in validating the exercise test, contributing to a larger study of chronic respiratory and heart failure populations.
“I am looking to recruit healthy males aged between 55 and 70 years old to participate in the exercise testing,” Ms Palmer said.
“This project aims to evaluate the impact that chest wall binding has on breathlessness during exercise.”
Ms Palmer urged Bundaberg locals to encourage their male partners, fathers, colleagues, and friends to participate in this important study.
“Worldwide breathlessness is the cause of up to 50 per cent of emergency department presentations,” she explained.
“This area of research is in its early stages, but the plan is that we have developed a quick and easy clinical exercise test that clinicians can use to assess breathlessness suffers and explore treatments to help relieve individuals of this very debilitating symptom.”
She said the simple test will involve a short walk on a treadmill.
“Through research such as this, we can further understand the impact of breathlessness and its interaction with activities such as walking up a slight incline,” Ms Palmer said.
“The only requirements are that individuals can walk continuously for two to six minutes and have no underlying Respiratory or Cardiac Disease.
“This pilot testing of the protocol in healthy males will contribute to my PhD which aims to validate an exercise test used to assess exertional breathlessness in chronic respiratory and cardiac populations.”
Participants must be able to commit to two 1.5 hour sessions at the CQUniversity Bundaberg campus.
To participate, contact Tanya Palmer via email t.palmer@cqu.edu.au or call 0447 404 139.
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