Certain Cardiovascular Risk Factors May Increase Risk Of Peripheral Artery Disease

“Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a distinct atherosclerotic syndrome marked by stenosis or occlusion [blockage] of the arteries, particularly of the lower extremities. PAD affects 8 to 10 million individuals in the United States, and is associated with reduced functional capacity and increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Despite its widespread prevalence and negative associations with quality of life, morbidity, and mortality, PAD remains underdiagnosed and undertreated,” according to background information in the article. Preventable or treatable risk factors for PAD are generally thought to be similar to other forms of cardiovascular disease, however their respective associations with risk of PAD and the extent to which they are jointly associated with the incidence of PAD are not well established.

During a median (midpoint) follow-up of 24.2 years, there were 537 cases of incident PAD. The researchers found that each risk factor was significantly and independently associated with a higher risk of PAD after adjustment for the other 3 risk factors and confounders. Regardless of duration category, all men with a risk factor had higher risks of developing PAD compared with men without risk factors. Each additional risk factor approximately doubled the risk for PAD. Men who did not have any of the 4 risk factors had a 77 percent lower risk for developing PAD compared with all other men in the group. In 96 percent of PAD cases, at least 1 of the 4 risk factors was present at the time of PAD diagnosis.

Editor”s Note: This work was supported by allows from the National Institutes of Health. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, etc.

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Submited at Sunday, October 28th, 2012 at 4:15 pm on Uncategorized by Gillan
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