Research
Mixed
Exercise does not reduce mortality or amputation rates in patients with intermittent claudication.
While exercise won't necessarily prevent amputation or death based on current data, it is still recommended because it significantly improves your quality of life and walking ability. Focus on the functional benefits rather than expecting it to cure the underlying arterial disease.
ModerateRefutesMEDIUM confidence
We found no evidence of an effect of exercise, when compared with placebo or usual care, on mortality (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.39 to 2.17, 5 trials, 540 participants, moderate-quality evidence) or amputation (RR 0.20, 95% CI 0.01 to 4.15, 1 trial, 177 participants, low-quality evidence).
Why this rating
Evidence is 'moderate' for mortality and 'low' for amputation, with wide confidence intervals indicating imprecision.
Source
Exercise for intermittent claudication
Risha Lane et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2017
DOI 10.1002/14651858.cd000990.pub4
Meta-analysis · 32 studiesCited 820×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Structured exercise programs significantly improve maximum walking distance and pain-free walking distance in patients with intermittent claudication compared to usual care or placebo.Strong
- Exercise does not improve the Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) in patients with intermittent claudication.Good
- Exercise improves quality of life (physical and mental summary scores) in patients with intermittent claudication.Good
Related findings · Mixed
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