Cor Vasa 2018, 60(1):e3-e8 | DOI: 10.1016/j.crvasa.2017.12.004

Panvascular disease - Epidemiology and prevention

Ileana Desormais^a,b, Charalambos Vlachopoulos^c, Victor Aboyans^b,d,*

^a Department of Thoracic & Vascular Surgery and Vascular Medicine, Dupuytren University Hospital, Limoges, France

^b Inserm 1094, Tropical Neuroepidemiology, Limoges University, Limoges, France

^c 1st Department of Cardiology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

^d Department of Cardiology, Dupuytren University Hospital, Limoges, France

Atherosclerosis is a progressive, general disease, affecting all arterial beds. Atherosclerosis starts in the youth [1] and aggravates in time, more or less quickly, according to the associated risk factors and genetic background.
The simultaneous presence of clinically relevant atherosclerotic lesions in at least two major vascular territories defines the multisite artery disease or panvascular disease (PVD).
This represents the situations where ischemic symptoms are present, concomitant, or successive during patient's history and/or in the presence of multiple subclinical arterial lesions at significant risk of clinical manifestation in the future, affecting two or more distinct territories.
The prevalence of PVD in general population is poorly studied but is sharply increasing with age and accumulation of common cardiovascular risk factors. Patients with PVD are at increased risk of further cardiovascular events, either fatal or nonfatal. In contrast, gaps in comprehensive care of these patients are frequent. Many studies are concordant to underline poorer management of these patients compared to single-bed artery disease, especially if there is no evidence of significant associated coronary artery disease.
Therefore, a full cardiovascular work-up should be proposed in a screening/preventive program in asymptomatic patients in order to primarily assess their cardiovascular risk.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Panvascular disease; Prevention

Received: October 7, 2017; Accepted: November 7, 2017; Published: February 1, 2018  Show citation