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 effect of probucol on femoral atherosclerosis: the Probucol Quantitative Regression Swedish Trial (PQRST).
The Probucol Quantitative Regression Swedish Trial tested whether treatment of hypercholesterolemic persons with probucol for 3 years affected femoral atherosclerosis . The primary end point was the change in atheroma volume estimated as change in lumen volume of the femoral artery assessed by quantitative arteriography . Three hundred three patients with visible atherosclerosis were r and omized to probucol 0.5 g , twice daily , or to placebo . All patients were given diet and cholestyramine , 8 to 16 g/day . Twenty-nine patients were excluded because of inadequate primary end point measurements . The mean age of the remaining 274 subjects ( 158 were men ) was 55 years . Seventeen percent had intermittent claudication and 24 % had angina pectoris . After 3 years , the probucol-treated patients had 17 % lower serum cholesterol , 12 % lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol , 24 % lower total high-density lipoprotein cholesterol , and 34 % lower high-density lipoprotein2 cholesterol levels than control subjects . All lipoprotein differences between the treatment groups remained highly significant during the trial . There was no statistically significant change in lumen volume between the probucol and the control group . Furthermore , there was no difference between the treatment groups with regard to change in arterial edge roughness or amount of aorto-femoral atherosclerosis ; neither were there any differences between the treatment groups with regard to change in ST-segment depressions on exercise tests or ankle/arm blood pressure ( secondary end points ) . In the control group , lumen volume increased ( p < 0.001 ) and roughness of the femoral artery decreased ( p < 0.05 ) . ( ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS
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 .