Increased blood viscosity has been shown to be an important factor in reducing blood flow in a review and analysis of the history, clinical findings, and haemodynamic, rheological, radiological, and biochemical measurements in 126 patients with intermittent claudication. In some patients increased viscosity seemed to be the determining cause of claudication. A raised plasma fibrinogen was the m...

BACKGROUND Intermittent claudication (IC) is a symptom of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Pentoxifylline, one of many drugs used to treat IC, acts by decreasing blood viscosity, improving erythrocyte flexibility and promoting microcirculatory flow and tissue oxygen concentration. Many studies have evaluated the efficacy of pentoxifylline in...

Four men with arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) were exercised on a treadmill on 4 different days to determine their maximal walking time (MWT) and the point at which their claudication pain (CPT) began. Each subject was exercised at 60%, 75%, and 90% of his MWT to determine the effect of work intensity on the systolic blood pressure at the ankle (AP). To measure the effect of exercise repeated...

Nineteen patients with obliterative arteriosclerotic disease of the legs and suffering from intermittent claudication were studied before and during a 6 months' training program. The maximal walking distance and the calf muscle blood flow during walking (xenon-133 clearance technique) was recorded at monthly intervals. A significant correlation was established between improvement in maximal wal...

HYPOTHESIS Marked peripheral vasodilation and rubor characterize critically ischemic limbs on dependency. We believe that intermittent claudication is also associated with peripheral hemodynamic changes on postural alteration, which differ distinctly from normal. Evaluation of such differences and understanding of the underlying physiological derangements may be essential in the development of ...

OBJECTIVE In men, testosterone (T) levels decline with age, and lower T predicts all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. However, the associations of T and its metabolites, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and estradiol (E2), with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease remain unclear. We assessed associations of T, DHT and E2 with lower limb intermittent claudication in older men. DESIGN Cross-sect...

BACKGROUND Previous studies investigating the health-related quality of life of those with peripheral arterial disease have focused on patients recruited from hospital clinics. The health-related quality of life of people with peripheral arterial disease in the general population is unknown. AIMS We aimed to determine the health-related quality of life of people with intermittent claudication...

Smoking should be stopped and hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and hypothyroidism treated in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of the lower extremities. Statins decrease the incidence of intermittent claudication and improve exercise duration until the onset of intermittent claudication in persons with PAD and hypercholesterolemia. Antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin ...

Eight to 12 million people in United States have PAD (Allison et al. 2007). Only ~10% of patients with PAD have classic intermittent claudication (IC), ~50% have atypical leg symptoms and ~40% are asymptomatic (Hiatt 2001). Its prevalence significantly increases with age; 12 – 20% of those above the age of 65 years suffer from PAD (Ostchega al. 2007). The prevalence of PAD is similar in men and...