Evaluation of the metabolic compensation after treadmill test in patients with peripheral occlusive arterial disease

Patterns of release of lactate, hypoxanthine, and arginine into the bloodstream after a standardized treadmill test (twelve minutes, 1.6-2.8 mph, inclination 0,5,10,15%) were recorded in 21 consecutive patients with stage II peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, ankle blood pressure, and ankle/brachial systolic blood pressure ratio (A/B ratio), as well as plasma lactate, plasma hypoxanthine and serum arginine were recorded before and at fifteen to thirty-minute intervals for up to two hours after the treadmill test. Immediately after the treadmill test, lactate levels (36.6 +/- 3.7 mg/L) and hypoxanthine levels (2.73 +/- 0.19 mmol/L) were significantly (p less than 0.001) increased but returned to preexercise levels after thirty and sixty minutes, respectively. Arginine levels did not change significantly. Ankle blood pressure (57 +/- 5 mm Hg) and A/B ratio (0.40 +/- 0.04) were significantly (p less than 0.001) decreased after exercise, while heart rate and systolic blood pressure were increased. These parameters returned to normal as well within a half hour after exercise. Absolute walking distance correlated significantly (p less than 0.01) with the postexercise systolic blood pressure (r = -0.62), ankle pressure (r = 0.63) and A/B ratio (r = 0.72). Induced hypoxanthine and lactate production intercorrelated significantly positively (r = 0.57, p = 0.007) but were independent of the absolute walking distance. In contrast with lactate, hypoxanthine production correlated significantly with postexercise ankle pressure (r = 0.49, p = 0.02) and exercise-induced fall in A/B ratio (r = 0.66, p = 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)