These data indicate that the WIQ is a valid tool to detect improvement or deterioration in the daily walking ability of patients with intermittent claudication. Hence, the WIQ can be used as an alternative to treadmill testing for objective assessment of functional walking ability, both in daily practice and in clinical trials.

Treadmill assessment has the highest reliability when using a G-protocol together with the ACD as the primary outcome measure.

Supervised exercise therapy in a community-based setting is a promising approach to providing conservative treatment for patients with intermittent claudication.

This study shows that the Dutch version of the WIQ using the European metric system is a valid, reliable and clinically relevant instrument for assessing walking impairment in patients with intermittent claudication.

Background: Disease severity and functional impairment in patients with intermittent claudication is usually quantified by the measurement of pain-free walking distance (intermittent claudication distance, ICD) and maximal walking distance (absolute claudication distance, ACD). However, the distance at which a patient would prefer to stop because of claudication pain seems a definition that is more correspondent with the actual daily life walking distance. We conducted a study in which the distance a patient prefers to stop was defined as the functional claudication distance (FCD), and estimated the reliability and validity of this measurement.