Therapeutic Strategy for Claudicants: Functional Diagnostic Method and Imaging Diagnostic Procedure

Abstract

The functional and imaging diagnostic method were performed for intermittent claudicants. FormPWV/ABI^® was used with a treadmill test for 341 patients. The treadmill test was performed with a 12% slope at a speed of 2.4 km/hr for three minutes. The time until the ABI returned to pre-exercise values (recovery time; RT) was measured. Walking exercise therapy including pharmacotherapy was effective for 26 of 29 cases with an RT of less than 10 minutes. In conclusion, we believe that walking exercise therapy should be selected for cases with an RT of less than 10 minutes, followed by endovascular surgery and that the surgical arterial reconstruction should follow such therapy for cases with an RT of more than 10 minutes.