Natural history of stenosis in the iliac arteries in patients with intermittent claudication undergoing clinical treatment.

Purpose: Inspite of the long experience with the treatment of intermittent claudication, little is known about the natural history of stenotic lesions in the iliac segment. With the advent of endovascular treatment, this knowledge has become important.

Methods: Fifty-two stenosis, diagnosed using arteriography, in 38 claudicant patients were analyzed.

Evaluation of walking capacity over time in 500 patients with intermittent claudication who underwent clinical treatment.

Background: The use of physical training in the treatment of intermittent claudication is well established. However, current data do not provide enough information about the prognosis for each case, and there are no data on how walking distances evolve over time with conservative treatment. The goal of this study was to evaluate improvement in walking capacity among patients with intermittent claudication who underwent unsupervised clinical treatment, observing whether sustained treatment would increase or decrease maximum walking distance, whether after 6 months there was a change in the maximum distance, and whether abstinence from smoking and well-conducted walking exercise had independent effects on the outcome.