[Management of patients with intermittent claudication]

Abstract

Management of patients with intermittent claudication must be first the treatment of the atherosclerosis process: cessation of smoking, antiplatelet therapy, betablockers, angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor and cholesterol lowering in order to have a LDL cholesterol < 1 g/L. Treatment of intermittent claudication depends of the arterial lesions. If an endovascular procedure is feasible and safe, iliac stenosis or short iliac occlusion, it permits a spectacular improvement. Most often only medical treatment with physical training is advisable. Surgical revascularisation is rarely justified in patients with intermittent claudication.