• M M McDermott, S Mehta, H Ahn, and P Greenland.
• Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Medical School Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
• J Gen Intern Med. 1997 Apr 1; 12 (4): 209215209-15.

ObjectiveTo compare rates of therapy for atherosclerotic risk factors between patients with lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).DesignCross-sectional.SettingAcademic medical center.Patients/ParticipantsThree hundred forty-nine consecutive patients diagnosed with PAD or CAD identified from the blood flow and cardiac catheterization laboratories, respectively.Measurements And Main ResultsParticipants were interviewed by telephone for medical history as well as therapies prescribed and recommended by their physicians. Among patients with hypercholesterolemia, more CAD patients were taking cholesterol-lowering drugs (58% vs 46%, p = .08) and more CAD patients recalled a physician's instruction to follow a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet (94% vs 83%, p = .01). CAD patients were more likely to exercise regularly (71% vs 50%, p < .01). Among patients not exercising, more CAD patients recalled a physician's advice to exercise (74% vs 47%, p < .01). In logistic regression analysis, hypercholesterolemic patients with exclusive CAD were more likely to be treated with drug therapy (odds ratio [OR] 2.3, p = .05). CAD patients were more likely to recall advice to exercise (OR 4.0, p < .001), and more likely to be taking aspirin or warfarin (OR 4.8, p = .01).ConclusionsAtherosclerotic risk factors are less intensively treated among PAD patients than CAD patients. A number of possible explanations could account for these disparities in therapeutic intensity.

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