RESULTS
On entry, subjects were well matched by age
(average age was 67 years in all three groups).
According to the WIQ 3 persons were 1/2-block
claundicators, 5 were one-block claudicators, 12 were
two-block claudicators, 6 were three-block claudicators,
and 3 were five-block claudicators. None of the
patients could walk further than five blocks. Patients
randomized to strength training reported fewer years
of claudication (2 + 1) than did patients in the other
two groups (4 + 2 for treadmill-trained group and
4 + 3 for control group) but were similar with
respect to the frequency of cardiovascular comorbidity,
smoking history, and medication use as previously
reported. Patients did not change their
medication use or smoking status during the course
of the study.