Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2013 Jul;68(7):974-8.
doi: 10.6061/clinics/2013(07)14.

Exercise prescription using the heart of claudication pain onset in patients with intermittent claudication

Gabriel Grizzo Cucato  1 , Marcel da Rocha Chehuen, Luis Augusto Riani Costa, Raphael Mendes Ritti-Dias, Nelson Wolosker, John Michael Saxton, Cláudia Lúcia de Moraes Forjaz
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Exercise prescription using the heart of claudication pain onset in patients with intermittent claudication

Gabriel Grizzo Cucato et al. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2013 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the acute metabolic and cardiovascular responses to walking exercise at an intensity corresponding to the heart rate of claudication pain onset and to investigate the effects of a 12-week walking training program at this intensity on walking capacity.

Methods: Twenty-nine patients with intermittent claudication were randomly allocated to the walking training (n=17) or control (CO, n=12) group. The walking training group performed an acute exercise session comprising 15×2-min bouts of walking at the heart rate of claudication pain onset, with 2-min interpolated rest intervals. The claudication symptoms and cardiovascular and metabolic responses were evaluated. Walking training was then performed at the same intensity twice each week for 12 weeks, while the control group engaged in twice weekly stretching classes. The claudication onset distance and total walking distance were evaluated before and after the interventions. Brazilian Registry Clinical Trials: RBR-7M3D8W.

Results: During the acute exercise session, the heart rate was maintained within tight limits. The exercise intensity was above the anaerobic threshold and >80% of the heart rate peak and VO2peak. After the exercise training period, the walking exercise group (n=13) showed increased claudication onset distance (309±153 vs. 413±201m) and total walking distance (784±182 vs. 1,100±236m) compared to the control group (n=12) (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Walking exercise prescribed at the heart rate of claudication pain onset enables patients with intermittent claudication to exercise with tolerable levels of pain and improves walking performance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

References

    1. Norgren L, Hiatt WR, Dormandy JA, Nehler MR, Harris KA, Fowkes FG, et al. Inter-society consensus for the management of peripheral arterial disease. Int Angiol. 2007;26(2):81–157. - PubMed
    1. Hirsch AT, Haskal ZJ, Hertzer NR, Bakal CW, Creager MA, Halperin JL, et al. ACC/AHA 2005 Practice Guidelines for the management of patients with peripheral arterial disease (lower extremity, renal, mesenteric, and abdominal aortic): a collaborative report from the American Association for Vascular Surgery/Society for Vascular Surgery, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology, Society of Interventional Radiology, and the ACC/AHA Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Develop Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease): endorsed by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Society for Vascular Nursing; TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus; and Vascular Disease Foundation. Circulation. 2006;113(11):e463–654. - PubMed
    1. Gardner AW, Poehlman ET. Exercise rehabilitation programs for the treatment of claudication pain. A meta-analysis. JAMA. 1995;274(12):975–80. - PubMed
    1. Parmenter BJ, Raymond J, Fiatarone Singh MA. The effect of exercise on haemodynamics in intermittent claudication: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Sports Med. 2010;40(5):433–47. - PubMed
    1. Bendermacher BL, Willigendael EM, Teijink JA, Prins MH. Supervised exercise therapy versus non-supervised exercise therapy for intermittent claudication. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006;(2):CD005263. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources