That is one of the main lessons of a new study of people with peripheral artery disease, who find movement and even light exercise difficult and painful. The study found that not exercising makes the condition worse.
In peripheral artery disease, blocked arteries stop enough blood reaching the leg muscles, which causes pain when walking. The study, at Northwestern University in Chicago, included 156 patients: some walked on a treadmill for about forty minutes three times a week with the help of trainers, while another group did no exercise.
After six months, the walking group could walk 69 yards (about 63 m) further than at the start of the study, their heart health improved and blood flow in their legs got better, while the distance the other group could walk fell by 49 yards (about 45 m). The walkers could also climb stairs better, so their quality of life improved, said Dr Mary McDermott, who led the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2009. She recommends daily exercise, even without a trainer.
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