Beneficial cardiovascular effects of a novel aerobic program for training claudication at the maximal asymptomatic speed

Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) exposes to severe disability and high cardiovascular risk. The effects of exercise training are well-known (Stewart KJ et al, N Engl J Med 2002), and current programs are usually based on repeated walking sessions at certain levels of pain. We aimed to evaluate possible beneficial cardiovascular effects of a novel aerobic training program (Manfredini F et al, Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg 2004). Thirty patients (20 men,aged 66±12 ys) with stable PVD and claudication, were studied. Brachial systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), ankle pressure (AP), and ankle-brachial index (ABI) were measured. Pain Threshold Speed (PTS) was determined on treadmill in each patient and the speed/heart rate ratio was used as Efficiency Index (EI). A home-based aerobic program at maximal asymptomatic speed (MAS) prior to onset of claudication was prescribed. After 120 days the final evaluation was preceded by a subdivision of patients into 2 groups according to their compliance: High Quality (HQ:training at MAS) and Low Quality (LQ:markedly below MAS). Main results in total population (TP), LQ(n=14) and HQ(n=16), from program start (0) to end (120), are shown in Table (° p<0.5,† p<0.01,§ p