A comprehensive review the state-of-the-art in atherosclerosis of the arteries of the legs and feet. The authors discuss in detail the primary symptom-claudication-an intermittent pain in the leg or foot while walking, its predisposing factors, the current diagnostic methodologies, the impressive advances in the therapeutic armamentarium, and the need to screen for co-existing coronary artery disease. Additional chapters describe cutting-edge noninvasive angiography and vascular flow studies, specific drug therapy for claudication, regression of atherosclerosis therapy, gene therapy, and drug eluting stents for peripheral arterial disease. The authors also examine the epidemiology of LEAD, the effects of smoking and effective smoking cessation programs, its pathogenesis and its association with lipid abnormalities and hypertension, aggressive risk factor modification, and the need to measure the ankle brachial index of every patient over 45.

Claudication: Clinical Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis Dennis G. Caralis Noninvasive Diagnostic Evaluation of Peripheral Arterial Disease Nicos Labropoulos and Apostolos K. Tassiopoulos Smoking and Smoking Cessation Albert J. Bellg and Aristdis N. Mavridis Peripheral Arterial Disease and Diabetes George L. Bakris Hyperlipidemia in Peripheral Arterial Disease Ambika Babu, C. R. Kannan, and Theodore Mazzone Hypertension and Peripheral Vascular Disease Anjula Gandhi, Jay Garg, and George L. Bakris Physical Inactivity is a Risk Factor for Lower Extremity Arterial Disease and Coronary Heart Disease Dennis G. Caralis and Stamatis Dimitropoulos Pathogenesis of Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease Bassem Jamil Basha, George L. Bakris, and James R. Sowers Lower Extremity Arterial Disease Co-Existing With Coronary Artery Disease Dennis G. Caralis Medical Therapy of Claudication and Lower Extremity Arterial Disease Dennis G. Caralis Exercise Therapy for Lower Extremity Arterial Disease Peter F. Kokkinos Endovascular Strategies for Management of Claudication and Lower Extremity Arterial Disease Michael C. Brunner and Dennis G. Caralis Severe Lower Extremity Arterial Disease: Limb Salvage and Revascularization Chad E. Jacobs and Walter J. McCarthy Index