Within-group comparisons before and after intervention
| Intervention | Preintervention | Postintervention | P value | |
| Absolute distance walked during 6MWT (m), mean±SD | Sham | 318.2±124.3 | 324.8±129.4 | 0.026* |
| RIPC | 288.3±127.7 | 301.8±123.8 | <0.001* | |
| Speed of walking (m/s), mean±SD | Sham | 0.88±0.34 | 0.90±0.36 | 0.041* |
| RIPC | 0.80±0.35 | 0.84±0.34 | <0.001* | |
| Borg RPE scale, median (IQR) | Sham | 11.0 (8.5–13.0) | 11.0 (8.5–13.0) | 0.184† |
| RIPC | 11.5 (7.8–14.0) | 11 (7.0–13.3) | 0.143† |
*Paired t-test.
†Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
6MWT, Six-Minute Walk Test; RIPC, remote ischaemic preconditioning; RPE, rate of perceived exertion.