Principles & Practice of Pain Medicine > Part V. Pain Syndromes > D. Pain Associated with Medical Illness > Chapter 50. Peripheral Vascular Disease Robert I. Cohen

Peripheral Vascular Disease: Introduction

"By late middle age 5% of men and women have developed peripheral arterial disease, and within 5 years one quarter of these will develop pain at rest, ulceration, and gangrene (critical limb ischemia).¹ Physicians practicing in the specialty of pain medicine need to be familiar with the causes and management of pain due to peripheral vascular disease because it has a high prevalence and appropriate management can significantly improve the quality of life for these patients. The pain physician may also be able to significantly improve life expectancy because one half of the patients with symptomatic peripheral vascular disease also have coronary and/or carotid artery disease, and many will not be receiving recommended secondary and tertiary preventive therapy. This chapter outlines the disease conditions and treatments for pain associated with peripheral vascular disease.²..."