ABSTRACT
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE Peripheral vascular disease of the lower extremity can be due to either arterial or venous disease, with arterial being by far the most common cause. Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) more specifically refers to disease located in the lower extremity. PAD may be asymptomatic, but when symptoms arise they range from intermittent claudication to limb-threatening ischemia. It is estimated that 10 to 12 million people in the United States (1,2) have PAD and 4 million have intermittent claudication (2). These entities may be looked at as a continuum, bearing in mind, however that acute limb ischemia may be representative of a systemic or distant process such as atrial fibrillation with distal embolization. This usually results in the “blue toe” syndrome seen as ischemic toes, but larger emboli can cause more damage and greater tissue loss. Intermittent claudication or functional limb ischemia is the cardinal symptom of PAD of the lower extremity, though the majority of the patients are asymptomatic with as less than 20% reporting typical symptoms (3).
