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 .
TREATMENT OF HYPERLIPIDAEMIA RETARDS PROGRESSION OF SYMPTOMATIC FEMORAL ATHEROSCLEROSIS: A Randomised Controlled Trial
The effect of plasma lipid reduction on the progression of femoral atherosclerosis was studied in hyperlipidaemic patients with stable intermittent claudication . 24 patients were r and omly assigned to treatment and usual-care groups , the former receiving dietary advice and cholestyramine , nicotinic acid , or clofibrate depending on their lipoprotein phenotype . Biplanar arteriography was performed when the study began and after a mean period of 19 months . Angiograms were assessed visually , with blinding , and by computerised image analysis . Therapy reduced mean plasma total cholesterol by 25 % , mean low density lipoprotein ( LDL ) cholesterol by 28 % , and mean plasma triglycerides by 45 % . Significantly fewer arterial segments showed detectable progression of atherosclerosis in the treatment group . The mean increase in plaque area ( mm2/segment/year ) in the treatment group was only one third of that in the usual-care group . The mean increase in edge irregularity index ( a measure of the severity of disease ) in the treatment group was only 40 % of that in the usual care group . Twice as many arterial segments showed improvement in the treatment group . In both groups changes in edge irregularity index were directly related to plasma LDL cholesterol concentration . This study , the first r and omised controlled trial of its type , provides evidence that effective treatment of hyperlipidaemia favourably influences the natural history of symptomatic peripheral atherosclerosis
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 .