Introduction

Peripheral arterial disease, is clinically manifested as intermittent claudication or critical ischaemia, or identified by an ankle/brachial index (ABI) < 0.9, is present in at least one in every four patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Various risk factors like persistant hyperglycemia, smoking and hypertension, and dyslipidaemia are associated with Peripheral artery disease (PAD).

The increasing burden of diabetes is considered as one of the greatest global public health problem of our time¹. The microvascular and macrovascular complications associated with this diabetes, as well as the resulting morbidity and mortality, the personal, medical, and societal costs are enormous.^2,3 Despite of advances in diabetes pharmacotherapy, less than half of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) attain therapeutic goals designed to reduce long-term risks of complications, especially for glycemic control⁴, and lifestyle interventions are disappointing in the long term.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is one of the macrovascular complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Unlike other complications, it has received little attention, especially in the India. Hence, we carried out the present study to assess the prevalence and clinical profile of PAD in type 2 diabetes by measuring ankle brachial index using duplex Doppler ultrasound of the lower limbs and to correlated it with various risk factors.

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Dr Saurabh Goel

Department of Medicine, MGM Medical College, Navi Mumbai