Epidemiology and pathophysiology of peripheral arterial disease.

Evidence that both asymptomatic and symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) represent an independent risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has triggered a resurgence in epidemiologic and clinical interest in PAD. Between 8 and 12 million people in the United States are presumed to have PAD, and as the US population ages the incidence of PAD is expected to increase. Epidemiologic studies have shown that the prevalence of PAD among men and women is similar, and autopsy studies of young adults have shown a high frequency of advanced atherosclerotic lesions in distal abdominal aorta by the second decade of life. The pathophysiology of PAD is complex and has not been studied thoroughly. Additional research to understand the pathophysiologic mechanisms in disease-specific circulatory beds is crucial for the advancement of medical therapy for PAD.