Emerging Biomarkers in Peripheral Artery Disease

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Peripheral artery disease is probably the most common cardiovascular disease. It affects extensive areas of arteries in the lower extremities. Almost invariably, it is the result of a sustained and asymptomatic progression of the disease, and effective preventive measures are applied too late. In peripheral artery disease, the degree of atherosclerosis is greater than in patients with adverse events in other arterial territories. Different aspects of atherosclerosis may also be represented, and designing strategies for prompt identification could facilitate therapeutic goals. The main objective of this chapter is to describe biomarkers that can be measured in serum or plasma, which help diagnose, monitor and/or predict the course of the disease. This chapter defines and describes established biomarkers, emerging biomarkers and candidate biomarkers. This chapter includes short descriptions of their main characteristics and their usefulness in the clinical evaluation of peripheral artery disease. Our aim is to give reader a perspective on the advances made in the research laboratory over the recent years in the analysis of these patients.