Dietary intake and vascular disease: you are what you eat

Abstract

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) typically refers to atherosclerotic vascular disease, primarily affecting the arteries of the lower extremities. Despite being one of the three major manifestations of atherosclerosis (the others being coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease), PAD remains under-appreciated, under-recognized and under-treated. Contemporary estimates suggest that the global prevalence of PAD approaches up to 236 million patients affected and these numbers are expected to rise with an aging demographic.