Effects of exercise training program on functional capacity and quality of life in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Evaluation of a pilot project.

Background: In patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) stage II, exercise training seems to be important to reduce symptoms and improve functional capacity. We evaluated the effects of an outpatient treatment program on walking distance (standardized treadmill testing), training exercise capacity, and disease specific quality of life (PAVK-86 questionnaire). Methods and results: Thirty-one patients aged 70 ± 2 with intermittent claudicatio in stage IIa/IIb according to Fontaine (n = 18/13) underwent a supervised 12 week exercise training and education outpatient program. During course of intervention, patients demonstrated improvements in pain-free training walking distance (p<0.001) and repetitions of tiptoe standing (p < 0.05). In standardized treadmill testing, pain-free walking distance was improved by 182% (129 ± 19 m → 364 ± 53 m; p < 0.001), and maximum walking distance by 76% (311 ± 42 m → 546 ± 63 m; p < 0.01). Before training, mean subscale scores of the PAVK-86 demonstrated distinct impairments concerning pain and functional status. After 12 weeks of intervention, with exception of the subscale complaints, all dimensions of quality of life assessed have improved significantly. The highest effect size was observed for the subscales pain, mood, and functional status. Improvement in the subscale anxiety and pain-free walking distance (treadmill test) correlated significantly (r = 0.46) as well as improvement in the subscale mood and maximum walking distance (r = 0.45). Conclusion: In patients with PAOD stage II considerable effects on functional capacity and important dimensions of quality of life can be achieved by a short exercise and education program.