A home-based walking program could help people with poor leg circulation stay motivated to exercise.
Patients were found to be more likely to participate regularly in the new program than in one conducted in a hospital; the program may also be more cost-effective, Reuters reported.
"I was somewhat surprised that we achieved our results of a continued difference between the intervention and control groups because it is very difficult to get patients to adhere to an exercise program long term even when it is supervised, and our program was unsupervised, " lead researcher Doctor Mary McDermott told Reuters.
Peripheral artery disease, or PAD, is characterized by a buildup of plaque in the arteries. This can greatly increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.
"Symptoms of peripheral artery disease are often not classic. A patient might just experience weakness in their legs or tiredness and both the doctor and the patient might think that it's just a part of aging," McDermott said.
"Smokers, diabetics, people with hypertension or high cholesterol and anyone who has had a heart attack or stroke," have an elevated risk of developing the condition, Reuters reported.
Walking on a treadmill has proven effective in increasing circulation to the legs in patients with PAD.
A research team looked at 194 participants who had clogged leg arteries. One group of the participants were assigned to do the home-based exercise program while the other did not exercise.
Each participant took a six-minute test at the beginning and end of the year-long study to see how long it took them to pace a 100-foot hallway.
People in the exercise program proved to be able to walk "faster and farther" by the end of the study. They improved their six-minute walking distance by an average of 87 feet.
"I ask my patients to set aside 40 minutes every day to walk. When they first start I tell them they might walk 15 minutes and rest 25 minutes. After six or 12 weeks, they might be walking for 25 minutes and resting for only 15, the effects (of walking) can be dramatic," Robert Patterson, a physician and clinical researcher at Brown University, told Reuters.
