Premature lower extremity atherosclerosis: clinical aspects

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) involving the lower extremities is presumably a disease of the elderly. The awareness of PAD in the general population, and in younger adults in particular, is low. Atherosclerosis is the major cause of lower limb ischemia in the young. Young adults with clinical manifestations of premature lower extremity atherosclerosis (PLEA) typically have multiple cardiovascular risk factors and the majority are smokers, with strong family history of cardiovascular disease, and typically have chronic symptoms of claudication at diagnosis. Frequently these symptoms are either not reported in a timely manner by the patients or are attributed to other, presumably more common causes of leg pain in the young. More than 70% of patients with PLEA have angiographic evidence of severe aortoiliac disease. The results of surgical revascularizations in young adults are inferior to those reported in older patients. Younger adults typically require multiple revascularizations with relatively high amputation rate. We conclude that PAD should be considered in adults with multiple risk factors regardless of their age if appropriate symptoms are present. There is a need for increased public health awareness for premature lower extremity atherosclerosis.