[Blood lipid derangement common in peripheral artery disease. Lipid-lowering agents may alleviate symptoms and slow the atherosclerotic process].

In the new guidelines from the Swedish Medical Products Agency, an aggressive approach is recommended for the treatment of hyperlipidemia in all patients with manifest atherosclerotic disease. Patients with intermittent claudication should therefore receive lipid-lowering treatment on the same indications as patients with coronary artery disease. The present article reviews our knowledge of hyperlipidemia as a risk factor for the development of peripheral artery disease. Hyperlipidemia is frequently found in these patients and the most common lipid derangements are low levels of HDL-cholesterol and hypertriglyceridemia. Hard end-point data concerning morbidity and mortality during lipid-lowering treatment in this specific population is largely lacking, although previous studies indicate that lipid-lowering treatment slows the atherosclerotic process and induces pain relief.