Effect of Cycling Exercises on Ankle-Brachial Index in Subjects with Peripheral Artery Disease: A Randomized Controlled Study

Background: Supervised exercise training is very beneficial in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Cycling exercise has been found to increase peripheral blood flow in patients with PAD. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of cycling exercise on ankle-brachial index (ABI) in patients with PAD. Methods: Fifty patients with PAD were randomized into two groups (n=25 each): An exercise group that received cycling exercises for 20–30 min/session, 3 times/week for 8 weeks, plus medications, and a control group that received medications only. The outcome measure was ABI. Results: There were significant improvements in the ABI within both groups compared to baseline (p<0.001). Between-group analysis showed that the improvement in the ABI was significantly greater in the exercise group than in the control group (p<0.001). Conclusion: In addition to pharmacological treatment, cycling exercises may result in greater improvement in the ABI than pharmacological treatment alone in patients with PAD.