Progression of peripheral arterial disease predicts cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of progressive versus stable peripheral arterial disease (PAD) with the risk of future cardiovascular disease (CVD) events.

Background: An independent association between PAD, defined by low values of the ankle-brachial index (ABI), and future CVD risk has been demonstrated. However, the prognostic significance of declining versus stable ABI has not been studied.

Association of the metabolic syndrome with history of myocardial infarction and stroke in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background: The combination of cardiovascular risk factors known as the metabolic syndrome is receiving increased attention from physicians, but data on the syndrome's association with morbidity are limited.

Methods And Results: Applying National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria, we evaluated 10 357 NHANES III subjects for the 5 component conditions of the metabolic syndrome: insulin resistance, abdominal obesity based on waist circumference, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), and hypertension, as well as the full syndrome, defined as at least 3 of the 5 conditions. Logistic regression was used to estimate the cross-sectional association of the syndrome and each of its 5 component conditions separately with history of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and either MI or stroke (MI/stroke).