A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has found that patients who could engage in the high-intensity exercise had significant improvements in their ability to walk, maintain balance, and have strong legs—all of which have been associated with longer life spans.

The study found that high-intensity exercise significantly reduced PAD symptoms but low-intensity exercise did not. The comparison included 54 non-exercisers, 101 persons who walked at a reasonable pace and 109 people with PAD who walked quickly enough to induce discomfort.

According to the researchers, at 6 months, participants in the discomfort group were walking 0.056 m/sec faster than those in the comfort group during a 4-meter walking test (95 % confidence interval, 0.19-0.094 m/sec; P .01), and this difference increased to 0.084 m/sec (95 percent confidence interval, 0.049-0.120 m/sec; P .01) by the end of 12 months. A statistically significant gap also appeared between the group experiencing discomfort and the non-exercising group at 6 months, although it finally disappeared.

The study concluded that persons who walked more quickly or at a better speed had better health results. (Medscape - Jul 27, 2022)