Irish and British researchers say risk-reducing lifestyle changes are still key to treating peripheral arterial disease.

PAD occurs when plaque accumulates in arteries that supply blood to areas of the body other than the heart and brain.

The study, published in the Journal of Vascular and Intervention Radiology, found there is, as yet, not enough evidence to advocate minimally invasive surgery to open a narrowed or blocked leg artery in a person who does not have leg symptoms.

In the retrospective study conducted in Dublin, Ireland, 918 people had X-ray exams to check for arterial blockage in the leg. The 122 patients found with arterial narrowing of 50 percent or blockage, but no leg pain were followed for as long as nine years. One-third of the 122 developed symptoms of pain or ulceration and 13.9 percent required treatment.

Dr. Aoife Keeling of Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and an interventional radiologist at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago suggests the majority of PAD patients may have remained asymptomatic due to intense risk factor modification they underwent or other factors as yet unidentified.

"Prevention of PAD progression is vital and can be achieved with risk factor modification, for example, if individuals stop smoking, watch their diets, lower their cholesterol and have their blood pressure monitored," Keeling said in a statement.