ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: Few data are available on the correlation between peripheral occlusive arterial disease and metabolic syndrome. The present pilot study therefore investigated patients with and without PAOD and compared their vascular risk pattern with that of healthy controls. METHOD: With the aid of Doppler US measurements of blood pressure differences (tibiobrachial Doppler Index [DI], 59 patients were divided up into three groups: "healthy" (DI > 0.8 to < 1.0), "suffering from PAOD" (DI < 0.8) and "endangered" (DI > 0.8 to < 1.0). In each patient an oral glucose test (100 g) was done and insulin levels measured; in addition, the lipid fractions and fibrinogen were determined in the fasting patient. RESULTS: The groups, matched for age and weight, showed typical differences between patients with PAOD and healthy controls: lowered HDL cholesterol, elevated systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol and insulin. In addition, disorders of the glucose tolerance test were also more common. This shows that the patients with vascular disease have the typical risk factor pattern for metabolic syndrome as compared with controls in which point they are similar to patients with CAD. CONCLUSION: In patients with PAD, intensive non-medical therapy, such as weight reduction and physical exercise are likely to reduce the vascular risk-as has been shown for CAD patients.
