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Virginia Tech

Aerobic exercise training for patients suffering from intermittent claudication

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Nine patients with intermittent claudication diagnosed at least 6 months before this investigation were evaluated to determine the effects of walking exercise on serum lactate accumulation (HLa, mmol⁻¹), ankle pressure index (API), total treadmill time (sec), and onset of leg pain (sec) in the most severely diseased limb. Subjects were evaluated via a functional walking tolerance test before participation in a thrice-weekly exercise program lasting 6 weeks. Post- treatment, the participants were re-evaluated on an identical walking test. Measurements of HLa accumulation and API were taken at rest and immediately following termination of the treadmill test. In the training sessions, body weight (kg), exercise heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and distance traveled (m) were recorded daily. There were no significant changes (p<.05) after training in total time (mean increase = 23.7%) or time for onset of pain in the treadmill test (mean increase = 30.1%). Neither were there significant changes (p<.05) in API or HLa levels taken immediately after exercise, when pre- and post-training treadmill test data were compared. The weekly responses for exercise HR, and SBP, as well as body weight remained stable throughout. Mean distance walked by the subjects increased 203% (± 45%) across the 6 weeks. These data suggest that increases in total distance walked in an exercise program were apparently not related to HLa accumulation or API measurements in the working muscles, and that other mechanisms must be investigated in future studies to explain enhanced performance of such subjects.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Health and Physical Education
Department dc:contributor.department
Health and Physical Education
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
1986

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Bostian, Allen M.
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Herbert, William G.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Sebolt, Don R.
  • Rankin, Janet L. Walberg
  • McDannald, E. R. Jr

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-11152013-040449
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/45751

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
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citation

Bostian, Allen M.. Aerobic exercise training for patients suffering from intermittent claudication. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/45751