Treatment efficacy of intermittent claudication by surgical intervention, supervised physical exercise training compared to no treatment in unselected randomised patients I: one year results of functional and physiological improvements.

• OBJECTIVES: to compare the effect of surgery, exercise and simple observation on maximum exercise power in claudicants. Design: prospective, randomised study. METHODS: a total of 264 unselected claudicants were randomised to supervised exercise training, invasive treatment (open surgical or endovascular procedures) or observation. One year treatment outcomes were analysed on an intention to-treat basis. RESULTS: invasively treated patients showed a significant improvement in maximum walking power, stopping distance, post-ischaemic blood flow and big toe pressure at one year. Patients randomised to physical exercise training or to the control group did not improve in any outcome measure. CONCLUSION: invasive treatment increased walking capacity, leg blood pressure and flow. Supervised physical exercise training offered no therapeutic advantage compared to untreated controls.

Keyword

Adult

Aged

Aged

80 and over

Exercise

Exercise Test

Female

Follow-Up Studies

Humans

Intermittent Claudication

surgery

Male

Middle Aged

Prospective Studies

Quality of Life

Treatment Outcome

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)