Procedure to open heart arteries linked to
raised death rate in people with peripheral artery disease.
People with peripheral artery disease have an
increased short- and long-term risk of death after undergoing a procedure to
open clogged heart arteries, a new study finds.
Peripheral
artery disease (PAD) is a build-up of plaque in the blood vessels of the legs
and organs of the body. These cholesterol blockages can interfere with blood
flow and cause pain and cramping in the legs, sores that don't heal properly,
abdominal pain, high blood pressure and other
health problems.
For the
study, researchers looked at data from nearly 2,500 heart disease patients who
underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (which includes
both angioplasty and stenting) to open clogged heart arteries. Of those patients,
7 percent also had peripheral artery disease.
The
death rate while patients were in hospital immediately after the procedure was
much higher for those with peripheral artery disease than those without the
disease -- 1.7 percent vs. 0.1 percent. There was not a significant difference
between the two groups in their rates of heart attack, stroke and other major
complications.
Over an
average follow-up of 4.4 years, the patients with peripheral artery disease
also had a much higher death rate than those without the disease -- 23.8
percent vs. 10.8 percent. But after the researchers took into account other medical
conditions and factors that might influence patients' health, long-term death
rates were similar for patients with and without peripheral artery disease.
This
finding highlights the importance of ongoing preventive measures(healthy diet, adequate exercise)
To manage cholesterol levels, diabetes and high
blood pressure in patients with peripheral artery
disease who
undergo angioplasty and stenting, according to Dr. Konstantinos Charitakis, a
cardiology fellow at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, and
colleagues.
Charitakis
was scheduled to present the findings Wednesday at a meeting of the Society for
Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) in Las Vegas.
"People
with peripheral [artery] disease tend to have worse outcomes over the long
term, and it may be because they have many other health problems that increase
the severity of atherosclerosis and make it more likely they'll have a heart
attack or stroke in the future," Charitakis said in an SCAI news release.
"If we focus on treating those health problems, we may be able to improve
long-term outcomes in this high-risk group of patients."
Research
presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published
in a peer-reviewed journal.
More
information: The
U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about peripheral artery disease.
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© 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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