The effect of exercise compared with placebo or usual care was inconclusive on mortality , amputation and peak exercise calf blood flow due to limited data .
Angioplasty may produce greater improvements than exercise in the short term but this effect may not be sustained .
Exercise programmes were of significant benefit compared with placebo or usual care in improving walking time and distance in selected patients with leg pain from IC
BACKGROUND Exercise programmes are a relatively inexpensive , low-risk option compared with other more invasive therapies for leg pain on walking ( intermittent claudication ( IC ) ) .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of exercise programmes on IC , particularly in respect of reduction of symptoms on walking and improvement in quality of life .
Treadmill versus shuttle walk tests of walking ability in intermittent claudication.
PURPOSE To compare treadmill and shuttle walk tests for assessing functional capacity in patients with intermittent claudication , with respect to test-retest reliability , cardiovascular responses , and patient preferences . METHODS Patients with stable intermittent claudication ( N = 55 , ages 52 - 85 yr , median age 68 yr ) were recruited from the Sheffield Vascular Institute at the Northern General Hospital , Sheffield , UK . Each patient performed an incremental shuttle walk test , a constant-pace shuttle walk test , and a st and ardized treadmill test ( 3.2 km x h(-1 ) , 12 % gradient ) , each on three occasions . The incremental shuttle walk began at 3 km x h(-1 ) and increased by 0.5 km x h(-1 ) every minute , whereas the constant-pace shuttle walk was performed at the fixed pace of 4 km x h(-1 ) . Claudication distance ( CD ) , maximum walking distance ( MWD ) , heart rate ( HR ) , and blood pressure were assessed in each testing session . The patients also completed a test preference question naire . RESULTS CD and MWD for both shuttle walks were greater than the corresponding walking distances achieved in the treadmill test ( P < 0.001 ) . Average coefficients of variation for repeated incremental shuttle walk , constant-pace shuttle walk , and treadmill tests were 15.9 % , 21.1 % , and 18.7 % , respectively , for MWD , corresponding to average intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.87 , 0.82 , and 0.87 . Treadmill walking evoked greater increases in HR and blood pressure ( P < 0.001 ) , and fewer patients expressed a preference for it ( 24 vs 43 % for shuttle walking ) . CONCLUSION These findings indicated that shuttle walk testing exhibits similar test-retest reliability as treadmill testing , but that it evoked a lower level of cardiovascular stress and is preferred to treadmill testing by a large proportion of patients
The effect of exercise compared with placebo or usual care was inconclusive on mortality , amputation and peak exercise calf blood flow due to limited data .
Angioplasty may produce greater improvements than exercise in the short term but this effect may not be sustained .
Exercise programmes were of significant benefit compared with placebo or usual care in improving walking time and distance in selected patients with leg pain from IC
BACKGROUND Exercise programmes are a relatively inexpensive , low-risk option compared with other more invasive therapies for leg pain on walking ( intermittent claudication ( IC ) ) .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of exercise programmes on IC , particularly in respect of reduction of symptoms on walking and improvement in quality of life .