Abstract
Introduction: The prevalence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) has been well examined in several studies in developed countries over the last three decades, and thorough explanations have been suggested on the prevalence, incidence, risk factors, and prognostic factors of the peripheral artery disease. Because of the epidemiological change in CVS conditions where a dramatic elevation of incidence and prevalence occurred in developing countries, we try to provide a more robust analysis and discussion of the epidemiology of peripheral artery disease throughout this review. On the other hand, because of the usual lack of information on the prevalence and incidence of peripheral artery disease in many low-income countries, most of the reliance is usually made on research conducted in developed countries and sometimes on research of other related conditions, specifically coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases. In addition, we will describe measurements in populations, worldwide frequency, risk factors, and importance of peripheral artery disease.
The term 'peripheral artery disease' is usually used in the medical literature, despite the presence of significant variations in the meanings of this definition based on the affected vessels and groups of included pathologies, like, fibromuscular dysplasia, atherosclerosis, and vasculitis. Throughout this Review, the use of the term 'peripheral artery disease' will be limited to atherosclerosis that involved the arteries that serve the lower extremity. This will be similar to the use of the term 'peripheral vascular disease' which is commonly used in everyday practice, but also sometimes used to include venous diseases and lymphatic diseases.
The clinical spectrum of peripheral artery disease is usually wide and can include individuals who are even asymptomatic along with those who have leg symptoms, especially intermittent claudication in which the pain in the calf usually occurs during exercise and can be relieved following rest. At the most severe end of the spectrum is the critical limb ischaemia (CLI), which is known as the presence of rest pain, ulceration, and gangrene, and can many times cause amputation.
Aim of work: In this review, we will discuss Peripheral arterial disease
Methodology: We did a systematic search for Peripheral arterial disease in the emergency department using PubMed search engine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and Google Scholar search engine (https://scholar.google.com). All relevant studies were retrieved and discussed. We only included full articles.
Conclusions: The epidemiology of peripheral artery disease seems to be increasing rapidly in developing countries, with some evidence that females may be more affected than males. A large number of cases are occurring in the Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions. Surveys indicate that some populations in sub-Saharan Africa have peripheral artery disease. Although this Review suggests that factors such as poverty, industrialization, ethnicity, and infection might conceivably impact the development of peripheral artery disease, the traditional cardiovascular risk factors of smoking, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, and hypertension are likely to be the principal risk factors driving the epidemiological transition. The higher survival of the general populations also has an important effect by allowing the development of chronic diseases especially at older ages, as is the case with peripheral artery disease.