Exercise as a therapeutic approach to improve blood pressure in patients with peripheral arterial disease: current literature and future directions

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) exhibit reduced functional capacity and increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease. Although exercise has been a cornerstone for clinical treatment to improve walking capacity in patients with symptomatic PAD, its effects on cardiovascular parameters have been poorly explored.

Areas covered: This review examines the role of exercise in improving blood pressure in patients with symptomatic PAD and summarizes the current evidence on the acute (single bout of exercise) and chronic effects of walking and resistance exercise on blood pressure and its determinants.

Expert commentary: In patients with symptomatic PAD, exercise promotes acute and chronic reductions in blood pressure. These effects were observed particularly after walking and resistance exercise. Future studies are necessary to investigate the effects of other exercise modalities, especially non-painful exercises, on cardiovascular function in patients with symptomatic PAD.

KEYWORDS:

• Intermittent claudication
• blood pressure
• exercise
• cardiovascular disease
• risk factors

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq #409707/2016-3 and CNPq #310508/2017-7) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP # 2016/16425-9).