Peripheral Artery Disease

New findings from the SPARCL trial showed that patients with prior stroke or transient ischemic attack experienced fewer total vascular events, including cerebrovascular, coronary and peripheral events, when treated with atorvastatin compared with placebo.

A number of high-profile, but ultimately weakly associated, risks have hounded proton pump inhibitors for years. The mainstream media caught on to research that linked the drugs to scary conditions such as dementia, myocardial infarction and even malignancies causing some patients to discontinue them entirely. However, new research over the last several years has either disproven those previous claims or found the associations to be extremely weak. How can the gastroenterology community rebuild the image of PPIs?

The International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy, held Jan. 22 to 25 in Hollywood, Florida, tackled many of the hottest topics in endovascular intervention. To obtain the key take-home messages from ISET 2020, Healio spoke with experts in the field including Robert Lookstein, MD, MHCDL, FSIR, FAHA, FSVM, from Mount Sinai Health System; Jihad A. Mustapha, MD, FACC, FSCAI, from Advanced Cardiac and Vascular Centers for Amputation Prevention in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine; Constantino S. Peña, MD, FAHA, FSCCT, FSIR, from Miami Cardiac and Vascular Institute and Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine; and Kenneth Rosenfield, MD, MHCDS, FACC, FAHA, MSCAI, from Massachusetts General Hospital.

A paclitaxel-coated balloon was not associated with elevated mortality risk in patients who underwent revascularization for critical limb ischemia, according to 5-year data from the IN.PACT DEEP trial.

Adults with diabetic foot ulcers and peripheral artery disease who receive revascularization surgery are at no greater risk for amputation or death following endovascular surgery compared with open vascular surgery, according to findings published in the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications.

Daily consumption of cocoa with epicatechin improved 6-minute walk distance, blood flow to the legs and skeletal muscle health in patients with peripheral artery disease, according to a study published in Circulation Research.

A low-dose paclitaxel-coated balloon was similar in safety and efficacy to a higher-dose one for treatment of patients with peripheral artery disease, according to the full 1-year results of the COMPARE trial.

A paclitaxel-coated balloon for treatment of below-the-knee lesions was not associated with excess mortality or amputation risk at 3 years, researchers reported at the Leipzig Interventional Course.

A paclitaxel-coated balloon was safe and effective in patients with peripheral artery disease at 4 years and did not confer elevated mortality risk compared with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, according to new data from the ILLUMENATE Pivotal trial.

A recent meta-analysis detecting a signal of harm at 1 year in patients with below-the-knee lesions treated with paclitaxel-coated balloons is flawed and should not impact clinical practice, a speaker said at the International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy.