The risk of developing lower extremity peripheral arterial disease is proportional to the severity and duration of diabetes. High blood cholesterol – Dyslipidemia, which is an abnormally high level of cholesterol or fat in the blood. Dyslipidemia is caused by a high level of a protein called low-density lipoprotein (LDL cholesterol), low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL cholesterol), elevation of total cholesterol, and/or high triglyceride levels. This abnormality in blood cholesterol levels have been correlated with accelerated peripheral artery disease. Management of Dyslipidemia by diet, exercise, and/or medication is associated with a major reduction in rates of heart attack and stroke. High blood pressure – Hypertension or elevated blood pressure can increase a persons risk of developing PAD. Similarly to PAD, there is a known association between high blood pressure and heart attacks, strokes and abdominal aortic aneurysms. High blood pressure increases the risk of intermittent claudication, the most common symptom of PAD, by 2.5- to 4-fold in men and women, respectively. Other risk factors which are being studied include levels of various inflammatory mediators such as C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, homocysteine, and lipoprotein A. Individuals with increased levels of homocysteine in their blood have a 2-fold risk of peripheral artery disease. While there are genetics leading to risk factors for peripheral artery disease, including diabetes and high blood pressure; there have been no specific genes or gene mutations directly associated with the development of peripheral artery disease.
The prevalence of PAD varies considerably depending on how PAD is defined, and the age of the population being studied. Diagnosis is critical, as people with PAD have a four- to five-fold higher risk of heart attack or stroke.The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, and the U.K. Prospective Diabetes Study trials, in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, respectively, demonstrated that glycemic control is more strongly associated with microvascular disease than macrovascular disease. Pathologic changes occurring in small vessels may be more sensitive to chronically elevated glucose levels than is atherosclerosis occurring in larger arteries. Research
Research is being done on therapies to prevent progression of PAD. In those who have developed critically poor blood flow to the legs, the benefit of autotransplantation of autologous mononuclear cells is unclear.Only one randomized controlled trial has been conducted comparing vascular bypass to angioplasty for the treatment of severe PAD. The trial found no difference in amputation-free survival between vascular bypass and angioplasty at the planned clinical endpoint, but the trial has been criticized as being underpowered, limiting endovascular options, and comparing inappropriate endpoints.