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Animal data suggest that remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) can improve blood flow in ischemic limbs and, consequently, may benefit claudication patients. Supervised exercise is the preferred first-line intervention for patients with intermittent claudication (IC) but is constrained by limited availability and logistical issues, particularly in rural settings. The aim of this study is to evaluate remote ischemic pre-conditioning in the management of intermittent claudication patients.

We undertook a randomized clinical trial to evaluate RIC’s effect in claudication patients. Stable IC patients were randomly allocated to receive RIC alone, structured exercise (SE) alone, RIC plus SE, or to a control group which received standard advice and risk factor modification. Patients received their intervention over a 28-day period. RIC patients attended an RIC clinic every 3–4 days to undergo 4 cycles of 5-min upper limb …