Structured pain-free exercise progressively improves ankle-brachial index and walking ability in patients with claudication and compressible arteries: an observational study.

ABSTRACT: In patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), supervised exercise at near-moderate pain improves walking ability but not ankle-brachial index (ABI) values. In a retrospective observational study, we determined vascular and functional effects of a 6-month structured pain-free exercise program in patients with claudication and compressible vessels. Four-hundred and fifty-nine consecutive patients were studied. Segmental limb pressures were measured and ABI calculated during circa-monthly hospital visits. The 6-min (6MWD) and the pain-free walking distance (PFWD) during the 6-min walking test were determined. Two daily 8-min sessions of slow-moderate in-home walking at increasing metronome-paced speed were prescribed. After excluding patients with unmeasurable ABI or incompletion of the p

SUBMITTER: Manfredini F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8964614 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature