Intermittent claudication is pain in the leg that is brought on by walking and which is relieved by rest. The pain is a result of insufficient blood flow to the muscles of the leg due to narrowing of the arteries by atherosclerosis. People who have narrowing of the main artery in the thigh, the superficial femoral artery, and intermittent claudication which severely restricts their quality of life or causes dangerous tissue changes in the leg may undergo a procedure known as angioplasty to widen this narrowing. This procedure involves passing a balloon into the narrowed segment and inflating the balloon to push the artery open. In addition to this, a cylindrical piece of metal mesh called a stent may be inserted at the site where the artery has been pushed open with the aim of holding the narrowing open in the future. While stents work well in the arteries of the heart and in other arteries, it is not clear whether adding stents following angioplasty to narrowing’s of the superficial femoral artery gives any benefit to the patient.
