Previous studies, have demonstrated that leg
blood flow did not change or increased only slightly
with training.8'12 We observed that the modest
increase in flow in treated subjects was not correlated
to improved exercise performance.9 The lower postexercise
ankle-to-arm blood pressure ratios after
training were due to a higher arm pressure and not to
a lower ankle pressure. The finding of an increase in
arm systolic pressure reflected the improvement in
peak exercise capacity after training. Hall and
Barnard'7 and Jonason and Ringqvist18 described an
increase in the postexercise ankle blood pressure
after training, but no change in leg blood flow. Thus,
changes in the postexercise ankle-to-arm blood pressure
ratio cannot be used to infer similar changes in
peripheral perfusion.