Secondhand smoke significantly increased the risk of women developing peripheral artery disease (PAD) in a Chinese study, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Low levels of vitamin D may be associated with an increased risk for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Conference 2008.

The finding, appearing online in the journal Circulation, is the first to document a genetic mutation linked to PAD. Although the work was done in mice, researchers say it is likely to give them new insight into how PAD develops and progresses in humans.

A space-based technology may provide an inexpensive and more reliable way to gauge the walking capacity in many patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), whose clogged leg arteries cause them severe pain when they walk, according to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The prevalence of asymptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) is steadily increasing among American adults, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2007.