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AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract

Perceived walking gains did not always match leg symptom changes

Across five trials, perceived walking-distance scores rose 10.01 points with exercise versus 3.10 with control over six months.

Paper by Sophie Mickus, Dongxue Zhang, Mary McGrae McDermott · Northwestern University
Legs with narrowed arteries sit beside small walking figures, with a longer trail of footprints by the dark blue-green leg than the gray leg.

Our read

Interventions
Studied:
Meta-analysis of 626 people with lower-extremity peripheral artery disease, six months
What changed:
Perceived walking ability improved more with exercise than control on some measures, even with unchanged or worsening leg symptoms
The catch:
Questionnaire scores reflect perceived walking difficulty, not measured walking performance
In the record:
The 11th paper on walking exercise with results in people; 20 on record in all.
Why it’s aging research:
It studies an intervention with evidence of extending healthy life.

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper
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Among 626 people with lower-extremity peripheral artery disease, which reduces blood flow to the legs, a pooled analysis of five randomized trials compared walking exercise with control. Participants were 46.0% female and 58.5% Black; 337 were assigned to exercise and 289 to control. Researchers grouped participants by whether leg symptoms improved, stayed unchanged or worsened over six months.

A questionnaire scored perceived walking distance and speed from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating less difficulty. Overall, distance scores rose 10.01 points with exercise versus 3.10 with control. Speed scores rose 8.20 versus 2.05 points. Even participants whose symptoms stayed unchanged or worsened reported greater improvement with exercise than control on some measures of perceived walking ability.

Why it matters

Preserving walking ability matters for mobility with age. The analysis addresses how to assess exercise benefits in people with peripheral artery disease.

Caveats

Walking ability was measured by questionnaire, so these results concern perceived difficulty rather than measured walking performance. The pooled analysis was reported in a conference abstract.

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