Obliterative arteriosclerosis of extremities in patients with coronary heart disease.

In a group of 314 patients after past myocardial infarction or an episode of acute coronary insufficiency, angiological examination, repeated after a one-year interval, was performed. In the first examination, signs of obliterative arteriosclerosis in the lower extremities were found in 18.8% of the patients. It was noteworthy that 34% of patients with peripheral obliterative arteriosclerosis had no complaints connected with an impairment of circulation in the limbs. On the basis of the second examination, performed after a one-year interval, it was found that the annual incidence of obliterative arteriosclerosis in the lower extremities was 7.4%. In 66% of patients showing signs of obliterative arteriosclerosis at the first examination, objective impairment of peripheral circulation was observed after a one-year interval. In none of the patients did the investigators find signs of obliterative arteriosclerosis in the upper extremities.