Practical Guide about PAD

17 7.3. Walking exercise, and more Even though walking exercise is the most well- known treatment for PAD, some studies have shown that cycling exercise can also be effective for these patients 13 . Like walking, pedaling improves exercise capacity as well as walking and pedaling distance. Cycling exercise is also safer for patients at risk of falling. However, this modality might be less effective than walking. It seems that cycling exercise may greatly improve the distance pedaled while having less impact on distance walked and pain-free distance walked 13 . There are still positive cardiovascular effects in PAD patients 13 . Some researchers have also investigated exercising with the arms in PAD patients 3,7,16 . Although surprising, it seems clear in the literature that there is a benefit from exercise with the arms in PAD patients, who usually have damage in their legs. This type of exercise is particularly beneficial for patients who cannot do walking exercise because of very disabling pain 18,19 . Lastly, exercising with the arms even has an impact on muscle strength in the legs. All these factors also mean that it is associated with improved quality of life. There are many mechanisms to explain these benefits. Of these, one of the most important is undoubtedly the central, cardiovascular effect of exercise. All types of exercise, with arms or legs, produce an increase in cardiac output (the volume of blood pumped by the heart) and an increase in blood flow to the legs 3 . ↪ Practical Guide about Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)