What are the complications of Peripheral Vascular Disease?

The most serious complications of PVD are amputation of a limb, stroke, and death. Approximately 1 percent of adults over the age of 50 (1.5million to 2 million patients in the U.S and Europe) have advanced PVD.

Patients with PVD are also much more likely to have arterial disease within the heart. Approximately 90 percent of patients with PVD have been found to have significant disease in the arteries of the heart. If a patient has a positive evaluation for PVD, their family physician should also consider screening these individuals for coronary artery disease.