Exploration of Cardiology

Table 4. Clinical implications and management strategies.

Domain	Recommendations	Outcomes	References
Screening	Ask about sexual function; ABI/TBI for PAD in at-risk patients	Improves early detection	[17, 21, 22, 42, 43]
Risk modification	Smoking cessation, statins, BP control, antiplatelet therapy, optimal glycemia	Reduces ASCVD events	[21, 22]
Symptom management	PDE5 inhibitors for ED (avoid nitrates); cilostazol for claudication	Symptom relief, improved function	[47, 48, 51, 52]
Lifestyle and education	Structured diabetes education (DESMOND); exercise therapy for PAD	Cost-effective, improves outcomes	[49, 50, 53, 54]
Novel therapies	GLP-1 RA, SGLT2 inhibitors in T2D with high CV risk	Proven CV benefit, potential vascular protection	[55–58]

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PAD: peripheral artery disease; ABI: ankle-brachial index; TBI: toe-brachial index; BP: blood pressure; PDE5: phosphodiesterase type-5; ED: erectile dysfunction; DESMOND: Diabetes Education and Self-Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed; GLP-1 RA: glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist; SGLT2: sodium-glucose cotransporter-2; ASCVD: atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; CV: cardiovascular.

Declarations

Author contributions

AB: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—original draft. MCÇ: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—original draft. MK: Conceptualization, Writing—review & editing. MY: Writing—review & editing. LB: Supervision, Validation. YK: Supervision, Validation. All authors read and approved the submitted version.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent to publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Funding

No financial funding was received for this study.

Copyright

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Open Exploration maintains a neutral stance on jurisdictional claims in published institutional affiliations and maps. All opinions expressed in this article are the personal views of the author(s) and do not represent the stance of the editorial team or the publisher.

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