Plantar flexion training primes peripheral arterial disease patients for improvements in cardiac function

This study investigated if initial calf muscle training immediately followed by whole body training improved aerobic power and cardiovascular function in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients. The training group (n = 10) pursued 8 weeks of high aerobic intensity plantar flexion interval training continued by 8 weeks of high aerobic intensity treadmill training. The control group (n = 11) received advice according to exercise guidelines. Treadmill VO_2peak and time to exhaustion increased significantly with 16.8 and 23.4% during the plantar flexion training period while no changes occurred in heart stroke volume (SV). Following treadmill training, SV increased with 25.1% while treadmill VO_2peak and time to exhaustion increased 9.9 and 16.1%. Plantar flexion training was effective for increasing treadmill VO_2peak and time to exhaustion in PAD patients and amplified the effects of the additional treadmill training, as SV increased and treadmill VO_2peak and time to exhaustion improved further. This study suggests that calf muscle training prime PAD patients for cardiovascular adaptations when applying whole body exercise.