Safety and efficacy of home-based walking exercise for peripheral artery disease

Home-based walking exercise is first-line therapy for peripheral artery disease (PAD), but benefits of home-based walking exercise are variable. This study evaluated whether specific clinical characteristics were associated with greater improvement after home-based walking exercise or with higher rates of serious adverse events (SAEs).

Data were combined from two randomized clinical trials comparing home-based walking exercise with control in PAD. The home-based exercise interventions used behavioral interventions to help participants adhere to exercise. The primary outcome was the proportion of PAD participants who improved 6-minute walk (6MW) by at least 20 meters. Serious adverse events consisted of overnight hospitalizations or death that occurred during the randomized clinical trial.

Of 376 participants with PAD (69.6 years; 54.5% Black; 49.5% women), 217 were randomized to exercise and 159 to control. Home-based exercise improved 6MW by at least 20 meters in 100 participants (54.9%), compared with 37 (28.0%) in control (odds ratio, 3.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.94-5.06; P < .001). Age, sex, race, comorbidities, baseline 6MW, and income did not significantly alter the effect of home-based exercise on improved 6MW. SAEs occurred in 28.1% and 23.3% of participants randomized to exercise and control, respectively (P = .29). There were statistically significant interactions, indicating that home-based exercise increased SAE rates, compared with control, in Black compared with non-Black participants (P interaction < .001), in those with vs without coronary artery disease (CAD) (P interaction < .001), and in people with vs without history of heart failure (P interaction = .005).

Among people with PAD, home-based exercise improved 6MW by at least 20 meters in 54.9% of people. Older age, female sex, Black race, and specific comorbidities were not associated with lower rates of attaining meaningful improvement in 6MW following home-based exercise. Further study is needed to establish whether certain patient characteristics, such as history of coronary artery disease, may affect SAE rates in patients with PAD participating in home-based exercise.