Intermittent claudication - be conservative

Article Abstract:

Intermittent claudication is severe pain that occurs when the patient walks, but subsides when at rest. The frequency of intermittent claudication increases with age, and affects about 5 percent of people over 70. Intermittent claudication is not a disease, but a symptom of some underlying disease of the blood vessels. Often, the disease is arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which has become so severe that the arteries are blocked. Since the causes of intermittent claudication are similar to the causes of coronary heart disease, it is not surprising that many of the risk factors are the same. The most important risk factor for intermittent claudication is smoking, and smokers have roughly twice the rate of the disorder as nonsmokers. High cholesterol is also an important risk factor, and the amount of triglycerides (a type of fat) appears to be important. Several studies have indicated that intermittent claudication remains stable in a majority of patients, and may improve in some. The mortality rate among patients with intermittent claudication ranges from 40 to 72 percent after 10 years. However, the mortality is generally due to heart disease. It has become popular to treat the affected blood vessels in patients with peripheral vascular disease using transluminal angioplasty. This technique opens blocked arteries by expanding a tiny balloon within the affected area. In the August 22, 1991 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers present data indicating that this procedure is likely to provide only temporary benefit, and does not reduce the likelihood of limb amputation. The fact that intermittent claudication does not progress in the majority of patients suggests that conservative treatment may be the most appropriate. Intervention such as angioplasty or bypass surgery should be used only for patients with limb-threatening disease. Many patients will respond favorably to exercise regimens; and if the patient smokes, he should quit. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Care and treatment, Evaluation, Complications and side effects, Surgery, Arteriosclerosis, Blood vessels, Amputation, Vascular surgery, Angioplasty, editorial

---

Medical treatment of peripheral arterial disease and claudication

Article Abstract:

Patients with peripheral arterial disease should be treated as aggressively as those with coronary artery disease. Appropriate drug treatments include aspirin, clopidogrel, ACE inhibitors, and pentoxifylline. They should also be treated with drugs that lower cholesterol if they have high cholesterol levels.

Drug therapy, Peripheral vascular diseases

---

Intermittent claudication

Article Abstract:

The case of a 58-year-old, previously healthy mail carrier who reported cramping pain in his right calf when he walked is presented. A discussion on the clinical problem, the evaluation and diagnosis of intermittent right-calf claudication and its treatment is presented.

United States, Case studies, Clinical report

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Ureteral complications with operative gynecologic laparoscopy. Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of venous thromboembolic complications of gynecologic surgery
• Abstracts: A chemical treatment regimen to reduce bacterial contamination in dental waterlines. James Beall Morrison: the visionary who revolutionized the practice of dentistry
• Abstracts: Using a removal loop to prevent aspiration of indirect restorations. Using core markers to enhance visualization of the core material/tooth interface
• Abstracts: The relation between experience and outcome in heart transplantation. Viral triggers of cardiac-allograft dysfunction
• Abstracts: A fetal fatty-acid oxidation disorder as a cause of liver disease in pregnant women. Keratin 8 mutations in patients with cryptogenic liver disease

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.