Treadmill test is limited in elderly patients with peripheral arterial disease

Background: To describe the applicability and the performance of the treadmill test in elderly patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and without PAD (non-PAD). Patients and methods: Fifty consecutive PAD and non-PAD elderly patients performed a progressive treadmill test. The proportion of patients who were unable to perform the test and the maximal walking distance were obtained. Results: The proportion of patients who were unable to perform the treadmill test was similar between PAD (16.6%) and non-PAD patients (12.5%), P = .57. Maximal walking time for patients who performed the treadmill test was not different between PAD (232 +/- 218 s) and non-PAD patients (308 +/- 289 s), P=.37. Conclusions: The treadmill test is limited in almost 20% of elderly patients with PAD and non-PAD. These results highlight the need for other forms of exercise stress tests in order to assess the peripheral limitation of patients with PAD.