Home-Based Walking Program Helps PAD Patients
If you suffer from peripheral artery disease (PAD), new research suggests you take a walk. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (May 21, 2014), found that a home-based walking program could help PAD patients walk faster and farther.
PAD is a disease in which plaque builds up in the arteries and reduces blood flow to your head, organs, and limbs, especially the legs. As a result, patients often experience claudication—a tired and often painful feeling in the legs during physical activity, which usually goes away after you stop and rest.
“Walking is ideal for PAD patients because it may increase collateral circulation around the arterial block, which can improve one’s pain threshold as well as increase muscle resistance,” says Peter Lawrence, MD, chief of vascular surgery at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. “This means they can participate longer in everyday activities and have a better quality of life.”
Reducing PAD symptoms The study examined the walking ability of 81 PAD patients over a six-month period. After the group learned basic walking training skills, they were instructed to follow a routine at home. They were told to walk at least five days a week and build up to 50 minutes per outing. If they experienced leg fatigue during the walk, they stopped and rested, and then resumed walking. Afterwards, the participants increased the distance they could cover in six minutes from about 388 to 417 yards, an improvement of 29 yards.
While any type of leg-focused exercise can help a little with claudication, Dr. Lawrence points out that walking therapy is more effective as it targets the specific muscles affected by claudication. “For instance, cycling uses different muscles than walking, so when you cycle, you train some muscles that are not causing the problem and don’t train the ones that are,” he says.
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