Patients with symptoms of PAD but a normal resting ABI can be further evaluated with exercise ABI testing. Current guidelines recommend resting ankle-brachial index (ABI) testing for patients with history or examination findings suggesting PAD. A variety of leg symptoms that differ from classic claudication affects 50% of patients, and 40% have no leg symptoms at all. Intermittent claudication is the hallmark of atherosclerotic lower extremity PAD, but only about 10% of patients with PAD experience intermittent claudication. The most significant risk factors for PAD are hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and smoking the presence of three or more factors confers a 10-fold increase in PAD risk.
Lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects 12% to 20% of Americans 60 years and older.
