Vascular Reactivity is Impaired and Associated With Walking Ability in Patients With Intermittent Claudication.

We verified whether vascular reactivity is impaired and whether there is any association between vascular reactivity, walking ability, and peripheral artery disease (PAD) severity in patients with intermittent claudication (IC). We studied 63 patients and 17 age- and sex-matched volunteers without PAD. Vascular reactivity was evaluated in the brachial artery during reactive hyperemia (flow-mediated dilation [FMD]) and after a sublingual single dose of nitroglycerin (nitroglycerin-induced vasodilation [NID]). Walking ability was verified by a 6-minute walk test. Vascular reactivity and walking ability were significantly worse in patients with IC compared with control participants. The ankle-brachial index correlated with FMD, NID, as well as total and pain-free distances. The NID and walking ability progressively decreased as PAD severity increased. Walking ability correlated with NID but not with FMD. In patients with IC, vascular reactivity is impaired and is related to the severity of PAD and to walking ability.