Calf pain in middle-aged individuals as a predictor of ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

ABSTRACT

In middle-aged individuals, calf pain while walking may be an early marker of generalized ischemic vascular disease. We investigated whether the symptom of calf pain while walking was a predictor of ischemic cerebrovascular disease (CVD). In a nested case control study, part of the Malmö Prevention Program Project, we evaluated 105 patients with ischemic CVD for the symptom of calf pain reported at screening more than a decade before their illness. Their baseline characteristics were compared with those of an age- and sex-matched control group drawn from the population cohort. Calf pain while walking was reported by 16.2% of the patient group but by only 7.6% of the control group; p < 0.0001. Multiple logistic regression analysis with adjustment for all other significant risk factors showed a history of calf pain while walking to be an independent predictor of ischemic CVD (odds ratio, 1.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-3.7; p < 0.002). Thus, in middle-aged individuals, the symptom of calf pain while walking would seem to be a significant independent predictor of ischemic CVD. Our data serve to target a high-risk group for improved preventive efforts.