El ejercicio como tratamiento de pacientes con claudicación intermitente de los miembros inferiores de origen vascular

摘要

Atherosclerosis of the lower limbs produces ischemic pain, limiting subjects affected by this disorder, who are at risk of loosing the extremity compromised. Recent studies have demonstrated that programmed exercise is an excellent tool to treat not only the symptoms of the disease but also the risk factors that generate it. Several prospective and randomized studies have demonstrated that training is beneficial for intermittent claudication compared with other strategies, whether invasive or not. Walking exercise programs have achieved success when continued for at least six months at three times a week for thirty minutes or more. Exercise also significantly reduces cardiovascular risk in this population of patients, as this method serves as a therapy for hypertension, dyslipemia, smoking habits, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and stress, among others. Aerobic exercise, rather than revascularization, should be the first therapeutic option to be offered to patients with severe claudication. Not having this proposal would prevent them from experiencing a significant improvement, or even a complete amelioration of symptoms.