Lipid-lowering therapy is effective in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in people with PAD .
It may also improve local symptoms .
Until further evidence on the relative effectiveness of different lipid-lowering agents is available , use of a statin in people with PAD and a blood cholesterol level > /=3.5 mmol/litre is most indicated
BACKGROUND Lipid-lowering therapy is recommended for secondary prevention in people with coronary artery disease .
It may also reduce cardiovascular events and /or local disease progression in people with lower limb peripheral arterial disease ( PAD ) .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of lipid-lowering therapy on all-cause mortality , cardiovascular events and local disease progression in patients with PAD of the lower limb .
The peripheral circulation and treatment of hyperlipoproteinemias.
Forty patients with hyperlipoproteinemia were followed 4 - 9.3 years by non-invasive tests of their lower extremity circulation .  Twenty-eight patients were treated by diet and /or drugs , and 12 patients were controls .  Although all patients had abnormal non-invasive tests , only 15 patients had intermittent claudication . Seven patients had improved circulation tests while 13 showed a deterioration in the tests ; 20 patients had no changes . The patients who showed improvement in tests had the highest incidence of intermittent claudication and the lowest average ankle to brachial artery systolic blood pressure index . Although treatment patients had a significant decrease in total cholesterol , triglycerides , and VLDL , no significant differences were found when the results of the circulation tests were analyzed according to treatment or control status of the patients , to abnormal lipid patterns , or , ignoring treatment status , to a decrease in lipids . The patients who showed a deterioration in tests had a significantly higher total cholesterol level at the beginning of , but not during , the study and did not significantly decrease their triglycerides . No significant changes occurred in HDL , LDL , or VLDL . This study presents a methodology for the long-term , non-invasive assessment of peripheral arterial disease and a pilot study for its application . Despite the small number of patients studied , the failure to demonstrate benefit would discourage a larger clinical trial of this treatment protocol
Lipid-lowering therapy is effective in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in people with PAD .
It may also improve local symptoms .
Until further evidence on the relative effectiveness of different lipid-lowering agents is available , use of a statin in people with PAD and a blood cholesterol level > /=3.5 mmol/litre is most indicated
BACKGROUND Lipid-lowering therapy is recommended for secondary prevention in people with coronary artery disease .
It may also reduce cardiovascular events and /or local disease progression in people with lower limb peripheral arterial disease ( PAD ) .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of lipid-lowering therapy on all-cause mortality , cardiovascular events and local disease progression in patients with PAD of the lower limb .