Judy Foreman

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Should you walk for exercise even if blocked arteries in your legs make it painful?

April 27, 2009 by

You bet, counterintuitive as it may seem – although always check with your doctor first.

With supervised training on a treadmill, people with blocked arteries in the leg – also known as peripheral artery disease, or PAD – can significantly improve the distance they are able to walk, with and without pain, according to a study published in January in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The findings confirmed what doctors have long suspected: Exercising leg muscles by walking, especially on a treadmill, helps ease the condition.

Blocked arteries in the legs affects an estimated 8 million Americans. Most people with PAD have lower blood pressure in the ankle than in the arm, a sign that leg arteries are partially blocked by the same kind of fatty deposits that cause obstructions in coronary arteries.

Many people with PAD have no leg pain. But many others have leg pain that starts with walking, then abates with rest. As walking increases leg muscles’ demand for oxygen, blockages mean insufficient blood is getting through, causing cramps. Still others have atypical symptoms: leg pain that begins at rest.

The six-month study, led by Dr. Mary M. McDermott, a professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, involved 156 men and women with PAD, with and without symptoms. The subjects were randomly assigned one of three activities: supervised treadmill walking three times a week; thrice-weekly supervised strength training that did not involve the treadmill; or attending nutrition classes.

Those who got treadmill training increased by about 100 feet the distance they could walk in 6 minutes. Strength training helped, but not as much. That may seem a small benefit, but it’s significant statistically and clinically. It can mean that a person with PAD can get to the store or car, said Dr. Alik Farber, chief of vascular and endovascular surgery at Boston Medical Center.

If you suspect you have PAD, see your doctor before you start an exercise program.

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