In clinical trials of therapeutic angiogenesis for CAD and PAD, the inconsistent efficacy of VEGF protein/gene therapy prompted a hypothesis that patients of these atherosclerotic vascular diseases may suffer from ligand insensitivity due to impaired receptor signaling or altered expression of antagonists (e.g., sVEGFR1), rather than simply a lack of angiogenic growth factors themselves [6]. Here, VEGFA is linked to peripheral arterial disease.