Cardiology Letters 2017, 26(2):98-105

Genetics of peripheral arterial occlusive disease of the lower extremities (PAD)

Demková K, Kozárová M, Tkáč I Demkova K, Kozarova M, Tkac I

IV. interná klinika UPJŠ LF a UNLP, Košice, Slovenská republika

Atherosclerosis and its risk factors are one of the major health problems of western civilization. A number of risk factors that affect the development of atherosclerosis and peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAD) of the lower extremities are inherited (e.g. dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension). For PAD a polygenic pattern of inheritance is typical, as for other complex diseases. Predisposition to PAD development is also likely to be associated with genetic variants that increase the risk of its development and progression, regardless of traditional risk factors. Despite the fact that we live in a decade of many genetic discoveries, so far only a few gene variants that are associated with PAD have been discovered. This may be due to the greater clinical and genetic heterogenity typical of PAD. Identification of genetic variants that predispose to PAD could lead to the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in its management in the future.

Keywords: atherosclerosis; peripheral arterial occlusive disease; type 2 diabetes mellitus; genetic polymorphisms

Published: February 1, 2017  Show citation