Peripheral vascular diseases, such as aneurysmal disease, intermittent claudication, acute arterial occlusion, and thromboangiitis, are prevalent in current medical practice. Vasospastic disorders, another class of vascular disease, are characterized by episodic color changes of the skin resulting from intermittent spasm of the small arteries and arterioles of the skin and digits. Vasospastic disorders are important because they frequently are a clue to another underlying disorder, such as arterial occlusive disease, connective tissue disorders, neurologic disorders, or endocrine disease. Characteristic clinical features, accurate diagnostic techniques, and improved treatment of peripheral vascular disease further emphasize the need for increased awareness of this group of disorders.
Recent advances in noninvasive diagnostic techniques in vascular disease