Management of Asymptomatic PAD and Claudication

Abstract

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) continues to grow and contributes to increase in medical costs required for PAD treatment accordingly. PAD represents a broad spectrum of disease from asymptomatic through severe limb ischemia, and their treatment should be multidisciplinary. However, the diagnostic ability of each physician in charge of PAD care and the treatment chosen are not uniform. In 2015, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Lower Extremity Practice Guidelines committee made guidelines to support clinical care in the treatment of asymptomatic PAD and intermittent claudication. This guideline states that invasive treatments for patients with asymptomatic PAD should not be performed with some exceptions, that invasive treatments for intermittent claudication should provide predictable functional improvements with reasonable durability for at least 2 years, and that common femoral artery disease should be treated by surgical therapy (endarterectomy).