Comments on the ESC Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Peripheral Artery Diseases. A Report of the Task Force of the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee of the Spanish Society of Cardiology

doi: 10.1016/j.rec.2011.12.003 The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has released its first guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD)1,2, excluding aortic disease. This editorial provides comments on this guideline, based on the recently established criteria of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC).3 Atherosclerosis is a pathological process that affects the entire vascular system, although it predominantly manifests in specific organs. The risk factors for this condition are common, and the primary and secondary prevention measures are useful for the various vascular areas. This requires that we not only diagnose and treat the primary disease, but also explore the rest of the vascular system. This, then, is an important guideline for cardiologists, since it addresses the need to understand and analyze coronary patients using a global approach that goes beyond the cardiac disease.