Peripheral Artery Disease: Most Effective Dietary Supplements

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a condition of atheromatous origin. It is prevalent even in developing countries. PAD is not always defined by clinical signs as it is asymptomatic in 2/3 of patients. Currently, the definition of PAD is based on the reduction of distal pressures at the ankles with a decrease in the ankle-brachial index (ABI) < 0.90 at rest.

Symptoms

The clinical stages of PAD are 3: asymptomatic stage, intermittent claudication, and critical ischemia. The asymptomatic stage can concern up to 50% of patients. At the stage of intermittent claudication, the patient describes arterial claudication, which is an intolerable cramp-like pain occurring in the muscle region downstream of the lesions for a given power effort, and this pain quickly subsides when the effort stops. Permanent or critical ischemia corresponds to a very advanced stage of PAD and is a therapeutic emergency requiring revascularization as quickly as possible in addition to medical management. Critical ischemia is defined by the association of clinical and hemodynamic criteria.

Treatment

Only early management of PAD can improve the prognosis, which involves screening it by measuring ABI in at-risk populations. Apart from permanent ischemia, which requires revascularization, the cornerstone of treatment lies in permanent and complete smoking cessation, long-term correction of all vascular risk factors, walking training, and medications that systematically include a statin.

Prevention

Primary prevention of PAD relies on implementing strategies aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle and controlling modifiable risk factors. These strategies include promoting physical activity, controlling smoking, and managing high blood pressure. PAD screening relies on calculating the ABI.