Medical management of peripheral arterial disease

Journal article

Peripheral arterial disease affects around 20% of the UK population aged between 55 and 75 years. The most common symptom is intermittent claudication (IC). Individuals with IC have a cardiovascular risk three- to fourfold that of the non-claudicant population. Most patients can be managed successfully with lifestyle modification, including smoking cessation and physical exercise, together with antiplatelet therapy and good control of blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Patients with IC should also be screened for diabetes. Cilostazol is the only adjuvant drug therapy that has been shown in clinical trials to be effective in the treatment of IC.

Authors: Adam, D; Bradbury, A; Gough, S

• Journal: Practical Cardiovascular Risk Management
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 2-4
• Publication date: 2006-07-01
• ISSN: 1478-6575
• Language: English