ABSTRACT
Over time, many advances have been made in the management of peripheral artery disease (PAD), a disorder of the non-cardiac vasculature. Increasingly, interventional cardiologists are able to manage many of these disorders using a percutaneous approach. PAD has shown increased all-cause mortality compared to patients with matched Framingham risk scores. This is most likely due to undertreated co-morbidities. A detailed clinical history in patients with atypical symptoms can differentiate it from non-vascular etiology and determine the degree and progression of symptoms. Patients with PAD should be encouraged to modify behaviours leading to higher risk or severity of co-morbidities. Patients with aortoiliac occlusive disease benefit the most from a percutaneous approach, with endovascular re-vascularisation having lower mortality and morbidity rates. Anatomically, because the common femoral artery lies over the hip joint, stent placement has been associated with stent thrombosis and restenosis.
