title: The epidemiology of peripheral arterial disease: importance of identifying the population at risk.
abstract: Data from the Framingham Study and other population studies indicate that intermittent claudication (IC) sharply increases in late middle age and is somewhat higher among men than women. Noninvasive testing in populations indicates that the true prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is at least five times higher than would be expected based on the reported prevalence of IC. Peripheral arterial disease correlates most strongly with cigarette smoking and either diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Other risk factors for PAD include hypertension; low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; and high levels of triglycerides, apolipoprotein B, lipoprotein(a), homocysteine, fibrinogen and blood viscosity. Individuals with PAD are more likely to have coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease than those without PAD. Because of the high risk of both nonfatal and fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in PAD patients, individuals with evidence of PAD should undergo both a careful examination of the entire cardiovascular system and aggressive modification of CVD risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0607, USA.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Criqui
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Denenberg
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Langer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fronek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007383:Intermittent Claudication / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors