Pharmacological Therapy of Peripheral Artery Disease in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: Cardiovascular Risk Factor Management

Peripheral arterial disease is an arteriosclerotic disease that can affect the arteries of the whole body except the coronary arteries and the aorta.In general, disease of the descending aorta, iliac artery, and lower limb arteries below the renal artery is referred to as peripheral artery disease (PAD) or lower extremity artery disease.PAD is highly associated with ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and mortality.Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major risk factor for a variety of cardiovascular diseases, especially PAD.Recent studies have shown that PAD patients with DM have a significantly higher rate of major adverse cardiovascular events, all-cause mortality, and limb amputation compared with patients with PAD alone.To prevent and manage various complications of patients with DM, aggressive diagnosis and management and treatment of PAD play an important role in prevention of complications threatening quality of life such as cardiovascular disease and limb amputation.