The Vascular Health Care Team: Teamwork Devoted to the Optimal Care of Peripheral Arterial Disease

Optimal long-term care of patients with atherosclerotic peripheral arterial diseases (PAD) is best achieved by an integrated medical management program, coordinated by a vascular health care team. This is essential, because patients require distinct health care interventions at different stages of their disease. For those patients fortunate enough to have their PAD diagnosed at an early stage, preventive interventions (e.g., atherosclerosis risk reduction, antiplatelet therapies, exercise prescriptions, and foot care) may predominate in the care plan to delay progression of atherosclerosis and prevent ischemic events and development of functional disability. Physicians provide vascular specialty skills in vascular surgery, vascular medicine, interventional radiology, or cardiology. Traditionally, these four specialties have fulfilled rather distinct roles, and yet each type of physician could potentially provide diagnostic and therapeutic services beyond these particular traditions. The traditional vascular specialties provide rather distinct pathways toward the achievement of competence and autonomy within their field.