ESC Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Peripheral Artery Diseases: Document Covering Atherosclerotic Disease of Extracranial Carotid and Vertebral, Mesenteric, Renal, Upper and Lower Extremity Arteries * the Task Force on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Peripheral Artery Diseases of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

2D : two-dimensional 3D : three-dimensional ABI : ankle–brachial index ACAS : Asymptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis Study ACCF : American College of Cardiology Foundation ACE : angiotensin-converting enzyme ACS : acute coronary syndrome ACST : Asymptomatic Carotid Surgery Trial ALI : acute limb ischaemia ASTRAL : Angioplasty and Stenting for Renal Artery Lesions trial BASIL : Bypass versus Angioplasty in Severe Ischaemia of the Leg BOA : Dutch Bypass Oral Anticoagulants or Aspirin CABG : coronary artery bypass grafting CAD : coronary artery disease CAPRIE : Clopidogrel versus Aspirin in Patients at Risk for Ischaemic Events CAPTURE : Carotid ACCULINK/ACCUNET Post Approval Trial to Uncover Rare Events CARP : Coronary Artery Revascularization Prophylaxis CAS : carotid artery stenting CASPAR : Clopidogrel and Acetylsalicylic Acid in Bypass Surgery for Peripheral Arterial Disease CASS : Coronary Artery Surgery Study CAVATAS : CArotid and Vertebral Artery Transluminal Angioplasty Study CEA : carotid endarterectomy CHARISMA : Clopidogrel for High Atherothrombotic Risk and Ischaemic Stabilization, Management and Avoidance CI : confidence interval CLEVER : Claudication: Exercise Versus Endoluminal Revascularization CLI : critical limb ischaemia CORAL : Cardiovascular Outcomes in Renal Atherosclerotic Lesions COURAGE : Clinical Outcomes Utilization Revascularization and Aggressive Drug Evaluation CPG : Committee for Practice Guidelines CREST : Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy vs. Stenting Trial CT : computed tomography CTA : computed tomography angiography CVD : cardiovascular disease DECREASE-V : Dutch Echocardiographic Cardiac Risk Evaluation DRASTIC : Dutch Renal Artery Stenosis Intervention Cooperative Study DSA : digital subtraction angiography DUS : duplex ultrasound/duplex ultrasonography EACTS : European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery EAS : European Atherosclerosis Society ECST : European Carotid Surgery Trial EPD : embolic protection device ESC : European Society of Cardiology ESH : European Society of Hypertension ESRD : end-stage renal disease EUROSCORE : European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation EVA-3S : Endarterectomy Versus Angioplasty in Patients with Symptomatic Severe Carotid Stenosis EXACT : Emboshield and Xact Post Approval Carotid Stent Trial GALA : General Anaesthesia versus Local Anaesthesia for Carotid Surgery GFR : glomerular filtration rate GRACE : Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events HbA1c : glycated haemoglobin HDL : high-density lipoprotein HOPE : Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation HR : hazard ratio IC : intermittent claudication ICSS : International Carotid Stenting Study IMT : intima–media thickness ITT : intention to treat LDL : low-density lipoprotein LEAD : lower extremity artery disease MACCEs : major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events MDCT : multidetector computed tomography MONICA : Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease MRA : magnetic resonance angiography MRI : magnetic resonance imaging NASCET : North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial ONTARGET : Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial OR : odds ratio PAD : peripheral artery diseases PARTNERS : Peripheral Arterial Disease Awareness, Risk, and Treatment: New Resources for Survival PCI : percutaneous coronary intervention PET : positron emission tomography PRO-CAS : Predictors of Death and Stroke in CAS PTA : percutaneous transluminal angioplasty RAAS : renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system RADAR : Randomized, Multicentre, Prospective Study Comparing Best Medical Treatment Versus Best Medical Treatment Plus Renal Artery Stenting in Patients With Haemodynamically Relevant Atherosclerotic Renal Artery Stenosis RAS : renal artery stenosis RCT : randomized controlled trial REACH : Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health RR : risk ratio SAPPHIRE : Stenting and Angioplasty with Protection in Patients at High Risk for Endarterectomy SCAI : Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions SIR : Society of Interventional Radiology SPACE : Stent-Protected Angioplasty versus Carotid Endarterectomy SPARCL : Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels Study STAR : Stent Placement in Patients With Atherosclerotic Renal Artery Stenosis and Impaired Renal Function SSYLVIA : Stenting of Symptomatic Atherosclerotic Lesions in the Vertebral or Intracranial Arteries SVMB : Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology TASC : TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus TIA : transient ischaemic attack UEAD : upper extremity artery disease VA : vertebral artery Guidelines summarize and evaluate all available evidence, at the time of the writing process, on a particular issue with the aim of assisting physicians in selecting the best management strategies for an individual patient, with a given condition, taking into account the impact on outcome, as well as the risk–benefit ratio of particular diagnostic or therapeutic means. Guidelines are no substitutes but are complements for textbooks and cover the ESC Core Curriculum topics. Guidelines and recommendations should help the physicians to make decisions in their daily practice. However, the final decisions concerning an individual patient must be made by the responsible physician(s). A large number of Guidelines have been issued in recent years by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) as well as by other societies and organizations. Because of the impact on clinical practice, quality criteria for the development of guidelines have been established in order to make all decisions transparent to the user. The recommendations for formulating and issuing ESC Guidelines can be found on the ESC website (http://www.escardio.org/guidelines-surveys/esc-guidelines/about/Pages/rules-writing.aspx). ESC Guidelines represent the official position of the ESC on a given topic and are regularly updated. Members of this Task Force were selected by the ESC to represent professionals involved with the medical care of patients with this pathology. Selected experts in the field undertook a comprehensive review of the published evidence for diagnosis, management, and/or prevention of a given condition according to ESC Committee for Practice Guidelines (CPG) policy. A critical evaluation of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures was performed including assessment of the risk–benefit ratio. Estimates of expected health outcomes for larger populations were included, where data exist. The level of evidence and the strength of recommendation of particular treatment options were weighed and graded according to pre-defined scales, as outlined in Tables 1 and 2 . …