Physical rehabilitation training program for peripheral artery disease in patients with ischemic heart disease

Abstract

Introduction: The ankle-brachial index provides a simple method to diagnose peripheral artery disease; its use allows identifying patients with intermittent claudi-cation of the lower limbs who do not successfully complete a cardiovascular stress test, which hinders their inclusion in rehabilitation programs. Objective: To design a comprehensive rehabilitation program for patients with peripheral artery disease and ischemic heart disease. Method: An observational, descriptive, prospective and longitudinal study was carried out with 28 patients after an acute coronary syndrome and peripheral artery disease. A training program was designed and after a three months follow up results were compared with those at the beginning of the investigation. Results: Male predominance (67.8%), 17 of them (60.7%) had an ankle-brachial index less than 0.9 (p=0.002). The most affected age group was 55-59 years (35.7%).The primary diagnosis was acute coronary syndrome with ST segment elevation (42.85%). The most common risk factor was hypertriglyceridemia (82.1%). Smoking (75%; p=0.005) and diabetes mellitus (28.6%; p=0.001) were significantly associated with a ITB≤0,9. After three months of supervised physical activity, the ankle-brachial index improved and increased time on exercise (4:21 vs. 10:9 minutes) and onset of pain (2:31 vs. 7:6 minutes). Conclusions: The introduction of supervised training programs for peripheral artery disease improves functional capacity of patients and their comprehensive evaluation, which favors joining cardiovascular rehabilitation programs.