The measured effect of stopping smoking on intermittent claudication

One hundred and twenty‐four limbs in patients suffering from intermittent claudication were studied over 10 months. Changes in ankle pressure and treadmill exercise tolerance over the period were compared between two groups, one of patients who continued to smoke (group 1) and the other of those who gave up (group 2). Resting ankle systolic pressure fell in smokers' limbs by a mean of 10·2 mmHg (t = 3·56, P < 0·001), and rose in those patients who stopped smoking by a mean 8·7 mmHg (P ‐ n.s.). Ankle pressures after exercise and maximum treadmill walking distance did not change in smokers but significantly improved in past smokers. Stopping cigarette smoking increased the chance of improvement in ankle pressure and exercise tolerance in intermittent claudication.