Pharmacological Therapies for Peripheral Vascular Disease

Patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) are at increased risk of death, when compared with age matched healthy controls. Patients with PVD, whether symptomatic or not, are six times more likely to die within 10 years, when compared to patients without PVD. This excess mortality is present even if coronary artery disease is not clinically present. Clinicians have shown that risk factors in peripheral vascular disease are less likely to be treated, when compared to patients with coronary artery disease. Because patients with PVD have decreased exercising capacity, a cycle of sedentary lifestyle impacts the quality of life of patients and progression of atherosclerosis. The improvement of symptoms without either a pharmacological or non-pharmacological intervention is unlikely, making appropriate therapy for PVD critical. The treatment for PVD includes risk factor modification and therapy to prevent cardiovascular events, pharmacological therapy for claudication, exercise training for the treatment of claudication and either surgical or endovascular revascularization. Dr Mukherjee and his excellent team of 21 contributors present the reader with all the available clinical information for treating PVD patients effectively.Mukherjee, Debabrata is the author of 'Pharmacological Therapies for Peripheral Vascular Disease', published 2005 under ISBN 9781841844572 and ISBN 1841844578.