Limb ischemia: medical therapy trial update.

Peripheral arterial disease has a significant impact on the quality of a patient's life. Pain, fear of limb loss, increased inactivity, and poor lifestyle choices such as continued smoking further debilitate these patients. Surgical and endovascular procedures have affected this outcome for many but carry the added risk of procedural complications and mortality for this group of high-risk individuals. Risk factor management and medical therapy carry little risk and can also improve functional outcome for many of these patients. Despite this, there are currently only two FDA-approved medications for the treatment of claudication. This review discusses published data on the impact of walking distance with investigational pharmacotherapy.