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PAD Awareness Month: Five recent updates
In recognition of Peripheral Artery Disease Awareness Month in September, Healio has compiled a list of five recent updates on PAD.
These updates touch on a wide range of topics, from drug-coated balloons to alternative pain-free exercise to improving amputation-free survival.
Endovascular-first approach bests open surgery for amputation-free survival in CLI
Patients with critical limb ischemia and multiple comorbidities who underwent initial surgical bypass had lower rates of amputation-free survival compared with those who underwent an endovascular-first approach, according to a study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Read more
Higher-intensity statins reduce mortality in PAD
Patients with PAD who maintained use of high-intensity statin therapy had significantly lower mortality than those who reduced the intensity of statin treatment or stopped taking statins, researchers reported. Read more
DRASTICO: Balloons, stents confer similar outcomes in complex PAD
Drug-coated balloons were noninferior but not superior to drug-eluting stents for treatment of femoropopliteal lesions in high-risk patients with complex PAD, according to the results of the DRASTICO study. Read more
FDA advises clinicians to discuss risks of paclitaxel-coated devices with patients
The FDA recently issued a series of recommendations following an advisory panel meeting on a signal of late mortality risk associated with paclitaxel-coated devices to treat PAD, including advising clinicians to discuss extensively with patients the risks and benefits of the devices and to ensure patients are on optimal medical therapy and are following appropriate lifestyle practices. Read more
Pain-free exercise may lower intermittent claudication in patients with PAD
Among patients with PAD, the use of alternative pain-free exercise methods may be beneficial in lowering the severity of intermittent claudication, according to findings published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Read more