Peripheral arterial occlusive disease

Summary

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a disorder affecting all extra-cardiac and extra-cranial arterial territories. The interest in detection and the dedicated local treatment options for PAD patients have increased substantially over the recent years.

PAD is a strong indicator of the presence of systemic atherosclerosis and is associated with a significantly increased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and death.

The management of patients with PAD should be planned in the context of their natural history, risk factors predicting deterioration and clinical presentation. Treatment options include secondary preventive measures, conservative therapy and surgical, as well as endovascular, revascularisation.

A continuing shift away from surgical revascularisation towards less invasive endovascular procedures for PAD patients is a current trend. Endovascular interventions have greatly changed the therapeutic landscape and are today considered the first-line revascularisation approach for most PAD patients.

Introduction

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a disorder of all arterial beds except for the coronary and intracranial circulation. In routine clinical practice, lower limb arteries are most frequently affected. The interest in PAD detection, medical treatment options and strategies facilitating arterial revascularisation has increased substantially over years. Moreover, rapidly evolving technical innovations have brought about a continuing shift away from surgical...