Cocoa flavanol consumption improves lower extremity endothelial function in healthy individuals and people with type 2 diabetes Mariam Bapir, Gavrielle Untracht, Debbie Cooke, John H McVey, Simon S Skene, Paola Campagnolo, Martin B Whyte, Nikolaos Dikaios, Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, David D Sampson, Danuta M Sampson and Christian Heiss Abstract Background: Diabetes and age are major risk factors for the development of lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD).