Twelve-Months Follow-up of Supervised Exercise after Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty for Intermittent Claudication: A Randomised Clinical Trial

• Main Authors: Ole J. Grøtta, Gunnar Sandbæk, Jørgen J. Jørgensen, Einar Stranden, Milada Cvancarova, Jonny Hisdal, Elisabeth Bø, Astrid Bergland
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2013-11-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: exercise; PTA; intermittent claudication; follow-up; randomised clinical trial
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/11/5998

The aim of this study was to explore the effects during 12 months follow-up of 12 weeks of supervised exercise therapy (SET) after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) compared to PTA alone on physical function, limb hemodynamics and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with intermittent claudication. Fifty patients were randomised to an intervention or a control group. Both groups received usual post-operative care and follow-up measurements at three, six and 12 months after PTA. The intervention group performed 12 weeks of SET after PTA. The control group did not receive any additional follow-up regarding exercise. During the 12 months’ follow-up, the members of the intervention group had significantly better walking distance than the control group. The intervention group had a significantly higher HRQoL score in the physical component score of the SF-36, and the domains of physical function, bodily pain and vitality. For limb hemodynamics, there was a non-significant trend towards better results in the intervention group compared to the control group. Conclusion: SET after PTA yielded statistically significantly better results for walking distance and HRQoL in the intervention group than the control group during the 12 months of follow-up.