Differences in Cardiovascular Risk Factors Between Patients With Acute Limb Ischemia and Intermittent Claudication

In this retrospective study, cardiovascular risk factors of patients with acute limb ischemia (ALI) were compared with those of intermittent claudication (IC). Furthermore, the association of ALI with environmental temperature and/or hematocrit level was tested. A total of 436 patients treated for ALI and 832 patients with IC were included in the analysis. Diabetes (P = .0001), smoking (P < .0001), and hypertension (P < .0001) were significantly less prevalent in the patients with ALI. Patients with IC had a higher rate of coronary artery disease (P = .003), and patients with ALI had a higher rate of cerebrovascular disease (P < .0001). There was no association between the outside temperature or hematocrit level and the occurrence of ALI. The hypothesis of seasonal incidence of ALI could not be confirmed, and there was no association of ALI with the hematocrit level.