Endovascular interventions of the femoro-popliteal disease in the elderly

In the last few years the treatment of superficial femoral artery (SFA) occlusive disease has undergone greater changes in management including more aggressive endoluminal therapy, especially in the elderly patients who are at high risk for extra-vascular comorbidities from the surgical approach. While acute and chronic arterial limb ischemia is the conditions which the interventional cardiologists frequently encounter, the elderly population represents special problematic clinical and anatomical setting due to heavy calcification and poor distal run-off. Arterial thrombolysis, rheolytic thrombectomy, mechanical thrombectomy, laser angioplasty, cryoplasty, and new flexible long stents are some of the promising techniques to improve the technical and clinical outcomes in these elderly patients. (J Geriatr Cardiol 2007;4:80-7.)