Low-Intensity Walking Therapy for Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease

High-intensity walking therapy is the standard approach to improving walk distance in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), but adherence is poor because the therapy is designed to induce ischemic leg symptoms. Investigators in this multisite U.S. trial explored the value of low-intensity walking therapy that did not induce ischemic symptoms. They recruited 305 symptomatic patients with PAD, defined by ankle-brachial index ≤0.9 or confirmed by vascular studies. Patients with major medical disease or recent vascularization were excluded.

Patients were randomized to low-intensity walking (i.e., comfortable pace that did not induce ischemic symptoms), to high-intensity walking (i.e., pace sufficient to induce moderate-to-severe symptom…