title: Peripheral arterial disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Up to 20% of adults aged over 55 years have detectable peripheral arterial disease of the legs, but this may cause symptoms of intermittent claudication in only a small proportion of affected people. The main risk factors are smoking and diabetes mellitus, but other risk factors for cardiovascular disease are also associated with peripheral arterial disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of treatments for people with chronic peripheral arterial disease? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to May 2010. Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review. We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found 70 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this systematic review, we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: antiplatelet agents, bypass surgery, cilostazol, exercise, pentoxifylline, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), prostaglandins, smoking cessation, and statins.
authors.affiliation: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cassar
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D017130:Angioplasty; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D007383:Intermittent Claudication / Q000188:drug therapy; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors