Skip to main content
  • Editorial: Bridging The Diabetic Microvascular and Macrovascular Gap In Peripheral Arterial Disease

    Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a chronic condition characterized by widespread atherosclerotic changes of arterial beds, most commonly of the lower extremities. An often-undiagnosed disease, the end-stage sequala of PAD includes disabling claudication that reduces patient mobility; lower-extremity ulcerations that serve as a nidus for infection and subsequent sepsis; and in its advanced form, critical limb ischemia (CLI) that might require limb amputation if untreated. Indeed, PAD is a critical co-morbid condition that needs to be identified and treated early in a multidisciplinary team in order to prevent the aforementioned late-stage complications from occurring. For this reason, a number of risk factors have been identified that increase a patient's risk for developing PAD such as family history, heart disease, or neurovascular disease  . Furthermore, diabetes mellitus (DM) is a well-established risk factor that not only can lead to the development of PAD, but has been shown to result in a worsened disease state with increased incidence of all-cause mortality, increased risk of macrovascular and microvascular events, increased incidence of limb amputations and finally worse quality of life  . Therefore, understanding the pathophysiology as well as treatment course in patients with PAD and DM is of critical importance to improving patient outcomes.

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Review our Privacy Policy for more details